Newmarket has the highest proportion of renters in York Region and is rising, but home ownership remains high compared to others in the GTHA.
The region has released local statistics from the Statistics Canada bulletin on housing. It shows Newmarket as having 24 per cent of its population as renters, six per cent more than the regional average. In general, renter households have been on the rise in the region, growing 38 per cent since 2016, the largest increase in the province.
Director of long-range planning Sandra Malcic said demand for rental housing in York Region is strong.
“New, purpose-built rental developments are not keeping pace,” she said. “Most of the rental growth is likely in the secondary market, which is generally more expensive and has less security of tenure.”
Although rentals have been on the rise in York Region, it still has the highest proportion of home ownership in the GTHA at 82 per cent. But the costs for that remain high, with the region having the highest proportion of households spending 30 per cent or more of income on housing costs in the GTHA, with 27 per cent of owners and 47 per cent of renters at that threshold.
“New ownership housing in York Region and across the GTHA is increasingly expensive,” Malcic said, adding that less than one per cent of new homes built in 2021 within York Region were assessed as affordable.
Newmarket residents are somewhat better able to handle high housing costs, compared to neighbouring municipalities. According to the data, 22.3 per cent of its homeowners spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, compared to the 26.9 per cent regional average. For renters, that figure is 39.2 per cent in Newmarket, compared to a 47.6 per cent regional average.
Provincial legislation has changed so that new units are not subject to rent control, which Malcic said means that rents become what the market can bear. Still, she said the housing ownership market has cooled since the census, with interest rates rising.
“Going forward, opportunities to access the ownership market may expand due to lowering prices,” she said. “However, carrying costs of the homes will increase which may continue to be a limiting factor to home ownership.”
The census update also features statistics regarding the local Indigenous population. York Region had 5,885 identify as having an Indigenous background in the last census. Of those, Newmarket had 1,015, the most in York Region outside of Georgina, which had 1,320.
The region is taking “proactive steps” to address housing, Malcic said, including an update to its 10-year housing and homelessness plan. She said the census will be used to inform housing gaps analysis, to determine how to best allocate resources.
“The provision of a full mix and range of housing options is crucial for attraction and retention of new residents, businesses and employees,” she said.
The full regional census bulletin is available through its website.
