London 'leads the pack' in per-capita new housing among big cities
London built more new housing units for every 100,000 people than nine of its peers across the country last year, according to a new report.
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London built more new housing units for every 100,000 people than nine of its peers across the country last year, according to a new report.
It’s a building boom that saw more than $1.6 billion worth of construction in 2020, and ranked London first among 10 cities analyzed by the Municipal Benchmarking Network.
London saw 939 new housing units built for every 100,000 people, topping the list and outpacing even much larger cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. The median was 504.
“Leading the pack is right. London stands exceptionally tall in this measurement report,” Mayor Ed Holder said.
“It says this is a progressive city that is trying to deal with issues, not just with ensuring we have appropriate residential units for our citizens, but it’s one of the ways to keep housing costs more stable.”
London also offered the best use of taxpayer dollars to issue those building permits and complete inspections, boasting the lowest operating cost for every $1,000 of construction value, when compared with eight other Canadian cities.
Last year that cost was $3.99. The median among the nine cities ranked was $10.14.
The Municipal Benchmarking Network measures 15 Canadian cities on a host of targets, everything from the rate of bylaw complaints to the size and cost of parkland. The annual report helps track London’s performance compared to other communities across the country.
Building is already a hot topic in London, where an escalating housing crisis has left more than 6,000 households waiting for rent-geared-to-income or other subsidized units. Rising rents and skyrocketing housing prices also are posing challenges for Londoners at higher income brackets.
There are growing and urgent calls to boost supply and to build more affordable and social housing units quickly.
City council committed to build 3,000 new affordable units in the next five years, a pledge Holder initially made at a state-of-the-city address.
City hall has taken the lead on several “rapid housing” projects, using federal funds to purchase prefabricated materials that can be constructed more quickly on site.
“Council is, and remains, laser focused on building affordable housing units over the next five years,” Holder said, noting it would take roughly a quadrupling of affordable units typically built each year.
And a commitment to speedier housing is important for other kinds of housing, too, he said.
“We still have to continue. We still have to keep building, increasing the number of homes, not just in London but across our region.”
This year’s building looks to be even stronger than 2020, with London cracking the $1 billion mark halfway through the year, and building permits to the end of July up 25 per cent compared to last year.
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