Data gaps a challenge for assessing Yellowknife's housing needs, committee hears

A consulting firm that's been hired to assess Yellowknife's housing needs says there are gaps in the data, and more research is needed to get an accurate picture. 

The city's governance and priorities committee heard some initial findings from the consulting firm Urban Systems on Tuesday. The firm is working on a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA), which looks at how many housing units are needed in the city, who is in greatest need, how to address affordability, and future growth implications.

The work follows an announcement earlier this year of $8.4-million in funding from the federal government aimed at speeding up housing development in Yellowknife. One of the priority projects includes developing a HNA.

Jake Papineau, a consultant with Urban Systems, told the city committee that accurate data is lacking when it comes to rental prices.

"What we found is that maybe some of the CMHC [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] data doesn't tell the full story of what is happening within the community," said Papineau.

The CMHC numbers suggest that bachelor apartments go for an average of $1,300 per month, while a three-bedroom unit goes averages about $2,250.

Coun. Rob Warburton agreed that those numbers are off. 

"Similar to my colleagues, I'm really excited to hear that there's some caution with the data with rental and vacancy rates — because from our experience, rents are way higher and vacancy is closer to zero," said Warburton

According to Papineau, fewer new housing units have been completed in the city in recent years. He said that from 2012 to 2017, there were between 99 and 151 new units each year, but from 2018 to 2023, that dropped to between 15 and 55 new housing units each year.

According to Papineau, Yellowknife's population is projected to grow by 9.6 per cent, to about 22,400 people by 2035. That's based on household data, birth and death rates, and other stats from the territorial government, he said.

That population growth means Yellowknife will require an additional 1,060 housing units of various types, though Papineau cautioned that those projected numbers will likely fluctuate.

"It seems like the city's economy is another point of transition, and so some of the folks that we engaged through our discussion have indicated that there is a little bit of nervousness — but when we look at employment, the overall employment basis is fairly stable," said Papineau.

The consultants also told councillors about challenges in connecting with Indigenous groups to hear about the city's housing needs. Papineau said he hopes a call from the mayor on behalf of the firm may help bridge the gap.

Coun. Steve Payne said at the meeting that he believes a lot of the responsibility for the city's current housing challenges falls on current and past councils, but he hopes some recent initiatives will help change the trajectory.

"If we take care of housing, then everything else won't really fall into place but it's going to be a lot better to get things working," Payne said.

"Now we got some money from the feds, finally there's money that's going to be for something good."

Urban Systems also said its consultations have included discussion of other ideas such as office-building conversion, bulk building materials purchasing, first-time home buyer supports, unique housing types (for example, tiny homes), improving transit, and increasing housing education. 

Papineau said the plan is to continue developing the HNA report and explore further opportunities for public engagement. The work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.