Today's letters: Canada's housing shortage — do we need so much space? | Ottawa Citizen
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Thursday, Dec. 7: The size of the average house has grown, and so has the cost per person, one reader notes. You can write to us too, at letters@ottawacitizen.com
Published Dec 07, 2023 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 1 minute read
A house for sale sign in Oakville: If we didn’t have such unrealistic housing expectations, there would be a housing glut and much lower prices, a letter-writer says. Photo by Richard Buchan /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Why we have a housing crisis
In 1951, the average house was 1,000 sq. ft. and housed four people. By 2021, the average house had grown to 2,000 sq. ft. and housed just 2.5 people. That means, even after accounting for population growth, we need 60 per cent more houses and every person requires more than three times the floor space they needed in 1951. This is the reason there is a housing shortage.
Heating three times the space per person is also one reason there is a climate crisis.
If we didn’t have such unrealistic housing expectations, there would be a housing glut and much lower prices. Solving the climate crisis would also be much easier.
Steen Petersen, Namaimo
