In the midst of a housing crisis, the city of Calgary released the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment report to identify present and future affordable housing requirements in Calgary.
According to the report released Wednesday, low vacancy rates, higher-than-normal rent increases, and escalating home prices are putting Calgary at risk of losing its competitive advantage as one of the world’s most livable cities.
“The latest data published in the Housing Needs Assessment shows us that an increasing number of Calgarians are struggling with housing affordability,” said Tim Ward, manager of housing solutions.
“The findings in the assessment also highlight that the housing crisis is affecting a wide range of Calgarians including those looking to buy or rent a home, and those that are in greatest need of affordable housing supports.”
These are the key findings in the assessment:
- The data shows at least 84,600 or almost one in five Calgary households couldn’t afford their housing in 2021. Based on current market housing conditions, it is expected that the numbers in 2023 are almost certainly even higher.
- Based on recent market housing data, the median cost to buy a detached home has increased in price by 37 per cent in the last three years.
- For Calgarians looking to buy their first detached home in 2023, an annual household income of $156,000 is required to adequately afford it, meaning they would not be spending more than 30 per cent of their income before tax on housing.
- To adequately afford the median purchase cost of an apartment in 2023, an annual household income of $70,800 is needed for that new home-buyer.
- For those looking to rent, an annual income of $84,000 is needed to adequately afford the average market rent in 2023. That number has increased from $67,000 in 2022.
- Based on Calgary’s forecasted population growth and historical rate of housing need, the number of households in need of affordable housing is expected to reach close to 100,000 households by 2026.
The assessment is published every five years. The information in the assessment influences the city’s affordable housing policies and helps the city plan its work with housing providers who build new developments and with the government who funds them.
After the report was released Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek called a rare Saturday afternoon council meeting to address the housing crisis in the city.
Gondek posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Calgary Homeless Foundation reports 237 families are waiting for supportive housing. In 2022 there were 173 families waiting and only 30 in 2021.
The Mayor also said in the last two weeks, 235 individuals who have never done so before, accessed emergency shelters.
The Housing Needs Assessment uses quantitative data from the federal census, the city of Calgary’s corporate economics department, and Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation.
To tell a more robust and comprehensive story about housing need in Calgary, this report also includes qualitative data from the perspective of affordable housing providers, operators, and organizations that assist with housing placements.
The city of Calgary defines a household as in need of affordable housing when the household earns less than 65 per cent of Calgary’s median income and spends more than 30 per cent of that income on housing costs.
You can read the city of Calgary’s 2023 Housing Needs Assessment report at Calgary.ca/HousingStrategy.
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