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A study about housing needs revealed essentially what the County of Brant already knew: homes cost too much and there aren’t enough of them.

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“But now we have the data to support it,” Brandon Kortleve, the county’s policy planning manager, told councillors earlier this month when presenting preliminary findings.

The report — a requirement under the Canada Community Building Fund — will ideally net the county some federal funding, but also inform how to move forward, Kortleve said.

Furthermore, the data can help the county “advocate for funding and policy changes” in support of options for affordable housing, the county wrote on its community engagement platform.

Market and census stats — combined with feedback from community members and organizations — showed the county doesn’t just need more homes, it needs varied types of housing.

With primarily single-detached homes in a largely car-dependent area, locals are struggling to find appropriate housing at both ends of the spectrum.

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Young people are having a hard time breaking into the market, while seniors are struggling to downsize or age in place in the county, the report showed.

The municipality hopes to get “meaningful feedback and direction” from residents through an open house in early June, and will aim to have a final report to council later that month, Kortleve said.

BY THE NUMBERS

According to the report:

$1,566 — Average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in 2023 — “well beyond what many local wages can support.”

5 — The percentage of the county’s housing stock that are apartments, as of the 2021 census.

50 — Applications for one available rental unit is not an uncommon number, private landlords said.

$52,000 — The average income of local renters — nearly half the $102,000 average income of homeowners.

645 — Households in Brant have “core housing need,” meaning people in homes that are too small, in poor condition or unaffordable.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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