The results from a housing needs survey conducted by the Strathcona Regional District were released recently and reveal that the shortage of affordable housing on Cortes Island and the surrounding area is real.

Local rents are beyond what most people can pay, supply is extremely limited, and those in the hospitality and retail sectors are most affected. Cortes islanders, by population, had the highest response to the district wide survey. The survey was distributed online and by local housing advocates in person.

Mark Vonesch, a member of the Cortes Community Housing Society, helped distribute the survey. He says the local community needs to come together to find solutions now that hard data is in hand.

Revamping the local Official Community Plan is what Vonesch sees as a way to move forward in both the near and long terms. He points out that the average cost of a dwelling listed for sale on Cortes Island is now close to $800,000, an increase of more than 170 per cent over the past 10 years. Combined household incomes averaging $70,000 per year could afford only 16 per cent of properties currently listed for sale, says Vonesch.

He also cites how demographics are changing. According to data from the latest census, Cortes Island's biggest population increase is from retirees. He adds that building more housing isn't the only solution, but freeing up existing housing is also a way to create more stock in the short term.

The 2016 census displays that 32 per cent of island private dwellings are unoccupied or, are only being used for short term seasonal occupancy or rentals. This is more than twice the number of dwellings than the 75 rental and 40 retail units the housing survey states are immediately needed on Cortes Island. At the same time, the cost of average rent has gone up by more than 70 per cent, the survey says.

Vonesch elaborates on the survey findings and potential solutions to the housing crisis on Cortes Island in the CKTZ News interview below: