The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

NEWS Continued from page 8 lever that's going to have a direct 100-] per- cent correla- tion to pricing. I wor say the primary item impact- ing housing prices is anim- balance in supply and de- mand across all of Bou em Ontario, " said Collins: William: To pat it simply, there are more people looking for homes in Halton than there are homes available on the market. That supply and demand problem is at the centre of the issue, but there are other factors at For example, one un- foreseen side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was a steep increase in the cost of lumber. That increase is expected to level off, but builders report the cost of “The primary item impacting housing prices is an imbalance in supply and demand across all of southern Ontario," wood resulted in as much as a $40,000 increase to the cost of construction fora single-family hom« There's also M0 longer- term factors, including a shortage in skilled trades- people and a general flight away from denser parts of the Greater Toronto Area toward places like Halton. It's all combined to bring the cost of a house to remarkable heights. "For better or for worse, that means people with the most resources win those SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFPRCA - Mike Collins-Williams bidding wars and that is pushing the price of hous- ing up significantly. 1 think a good example would be, from 2010 to 2015, the popu- lation of Ontario increased. by about 600,000. “In the next five years, 2015 to 2020, the population same in ‘cach of those " said Collins-Wil- Government officials egy to help address the need in the community by setting aside $107 million to create new housing op- portunities. ‘Andrew Balahura, di- rector of housing services with Halton Region and chief operating officer of Halton Community Hous- ing Corporation (HCHC), said housing costs need to be dealt we rt "It is dress housing: afore in order to ensure that o region continues to be so- cially and economically di verse. We need to retain our young people in the re- gion, ensure that an appro- priate mix of housing is available for Halton resi- dents of all incomes and that the forms of housing made available address de- de- mographic needs," said Ba- ahura. HCHCi is the largest pro- vider of assisted and af- fordable housing in the gion with a portfolio of 2, 210 units. The demand for afford- able housing in the region is so great that, despite having all those units, there are currently over 8,000 applicants on the or- Oakville $113,666 Halton Hills $106,349 Milton $104,730 Halton Average $103,009 Burlington $93,588 HALTON REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS Median total income of households (2016 Census) Total Unit Sales (MPAC Sales Data) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Oakville 4,523 5,303 4,917 4,296 3,832 Halton Hills 1,095 1,332 1,196 971 1,104 Milton 2,981 3,191 3,193 2,951 3,380 Halton Average 12,739 13,702 12,874 11,423 11,724 Burlington 4,140 3,876 3,568 3,204 3,408 Average Sale Price (MPAC Sales Data) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Oakville $757,053 $903,660 $1,006,258 $988,323 $1,034,221 Halton Hills $541,719 $613,374 $714,876 $730,354 $783,403 Milton $524,392 $597,154 $648,680 $649,329 $711,918 Halton Average $614,554 $727,467 $816,320 $802,931 $835,069 Burlington $543,058 $632,897 $738,593 $717,931 $750,017 Woz ‘St Ainr ‘Aepsunyy. | SiH UOHEH - dal UL | 6 ganization's wait-list. Balahura said the cur- rent housing price situa- tion is partly a result of just how successful Halton has been. "Housing i isn't. Just ab about mo! its “It's about safe, secure communities; it's about economic and socially di- verse communities; it's about having a sense of place, and I think one of the reasons so many people outside of Halton are de- manding to come here is because we have that," said Balahura. He believes addressing this demand would require a long list of changes, in- cluding dedicated funding support from higher levels of government and more purpose-built rental hous- ing. Mountainview Residence by the Glen The only family owned & operated retirement home in Halton Hills. oly ty of food choices), along with discrete personal care services to support daily well being. {DOOR BUSTERS Quantities are limited. While supplies last. Ben $149.99 a ae we Portable Tailgater Grill Thetiggr tobe of Tela Buzz Zapper Tis charcoal ets wp uk ens Electric Fly Swatte fi Wehe pat one ‘aes ous | aan 8, 2.2 Ib bag 100 ne rratural lump charcoal slater gal and cary Handel bug zpper it jes and mosquit ——= ——_—= Mountainview We are growing with Residents our community. Come see our new designs starting summer 2021! i Located on the cusp of the Hamlet of Glen Williams 222 Mountainview Road N orth, Georgetown 90 7-1800 jewresidence.com $6.99 4770202 Was $249.09 9058371 Was $10.99 Heavy-Duty 2 $9.99 cae Angle Br rs Large 16” sweeping 36-In. Pick Up/ / range, long lasting 5-Pk, Large Nitrile Palm Gloves Reach Tool poly bristles & sturdy oe 1" x 48" metal handle and fingers for maximum dexterity and tactily. youcaritreachor gas with comfort grip. 5156203 Was $13.99 3980141 Was $15.99 8879942 Was. $0.99 Tene 264 Main St. North eathertown LU yo Ma cilstle nnn am ae M building centres Koh ESE. py.510-859-1970 bs aioe Fax:519-853-2542 : Your trusted building supply partner” Mon-Fri 33geem= Saturday 8am - 4pm a Sunday CLOSED H