The City of Castlegar engaged CitySpaces Consulting to update their housing needs assessment to provide staff and Council with a better understanding of local housing issues. This report will be used as a tool by the City as it determines what forms of housing are needed in the community, to inform future housing-related policy, and to support housing providers and other organizations apply for affordable housing project funding. As part of the housing needs assessment, our team:
- Researched housing indicators, including current housing mix, tenure, rental prices, resale values, and household income.
- Facilitated key informant interviews with community stakeholders to understand housing issues from local observations and perspectives.
- Completed an affordability analysis and identified priority population groups and gaps along the housing continuum.
Overall, findings from our housing needs assessment indicate low- and moderate-income households are priced out of the homeownership market, and remain in rental housing. With escalating rental prices and little diversity in housing stock, vulnerable populations face considerable challenges securing rental housing.
While the City of Castlegar will not be able to address all the housing gaps identified in this housing needs assessment on its own, targeted efforts to address gaps, informed by research to maximize impact, could have a significant impact in addressing Castlegar’s housing needs.
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