Housing vacancy rate in Muskoka fell below one per cent last year: District report

A housing report presented by District Municipality of Muskoka staff on September 21 at the Planning and Community Services Committee indicates that last year vacancies were at an all-time low compared to the previous three years.

“The vacancy rate in Muskoka in 2022 was 0.65 per cent compared to 0.8 per cent in 2021, 1.13 per cent in 2020 and 1.2 per cent in 2019,” states the report, adding that “According to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC), a healthy vacancy rate is three per cent.”

Staff are required to present annual updates to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing following the adoption of a 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan in 2019.

Some of the key highlights from the report:

• Almost 40% of rental households spend more than 30% of their total income on
  shelter costs.
• The current housing crisis is characterized by low inventory, high construction costs, low levels of construction and development, high demand, and surging prices. For example, according to Statistics Canada data in 2022 residential building construction costs rose by 19.1 per cent on average.
• The gap between an affordable house price based on Muskoka’s median income and the actual cost of a home in Muskoka continues to widen.

According to the report, the median employment income in Muskoka is 16 per cent lower than in the Province. It’s an estimated $32,000 in Muskoka versus $38,000 in Ontario. Forty-two per cent of jobs in Muskoka are in the tourism, construction and services sector and are mostly seasonal or part-time. The median price of a non-waterfront home was $720,000, up 10 per cent from 2021.

The report also indicates that 39 per cent of rental households are spending more than 30 per cent of their total income on shelter costs. Ten per cent of Muskoka residents are living in poverty. That figure represents a three per cent decline compared to the 2016 census. The decline is being attributed to higher government transfers in 2020, including enhanced Canada Child Benefit and temporary pandemic relief benefits.

More on the programs the District has embarked on to try and alleviate the problem is available in the report.

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