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Wilmot Township Mayor can’t afford to buy house

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Waterloo Region’s red-hot housing market hits close to home for Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen.

Despite earning around $90,000 a year between her work as mayor, regional councillor and with the local electric utility, she says she can’t afford to buy a home in the municipality she leads.

“I do live at home with my parents,” Salonen says. “Living in this region is really not attainable for a young professional who has university debt and I know I’m certainly not alone in that.”

Located just outside Kitchener-Waterloo, Wilmot Township has a population of around 22,000. According to the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors, the average home in Wilmot sold for $916,167 last month.

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While it’s worth noting Salonen is just 28 years old, her situation is still unique among her political peers.

“I realized around the table, I was the only one who doesn’t own a house out of my mayoral colleagues in the region,” she says.

Salonen become the first female mayor of Wilmot in October 2022 when she received over 60 per cent of the vote.

She is still paying off her student loans after graduating from England’s University of Oxford in 2019, and says that’s contributing to why she can’t afford a home.

Many of her friends in their late 20s are unable to afford homes in Wilmot too, she says.

“I mean, one just went on the market. I don’t know what it sold at, but it was listed for $798,900 and about 1,000 square feet.”

LOCAL REALTOR WEIGHS IN

Realtor Shawn Ramautor with Royal LePage Wolle Realty says the situation is not surprising – even for a mayor.

“Unfortunately now this seems to be par for the course,” Ramautor says. “What we’re seeing right now is first-time homebuyers especially are really being affected. And there’s a huge barrier to entering the market right now.”

He says that means some parents are seeing their kids move back home to save up until they can buy their own place.

“Right now we’re seeing a lot of multi-generation families living in the same home because of the barriers to entry,” Ramautor explains.

Salonen supports last month’s announcement to build 10,000 affordable and attainable homes in the region by 2030.

Although, she recognizes there are people in much worse situations than hers and says this project isn’t necessarily aimed at young professionals earning similar wages as herself.

She hopes municipal leaders can get together to create opportunities for that demographic too.

Meanwhile, Salonen says above all else, the situation is helping her relate to the people she represents – perhaps in a way she never imagined.

 

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Housing and Accommodation Challenges Experienced by Canada’s Black Population

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Every human is entitled to housing and accommodation as part of their fundamental human rights and needs. While some residents of Canada enjoy this, the black community is socially exempted.

Canada’s Black population is currently experiencing discrimination from homeowners and landlords who prevent them from renting a home. Some blatantly refuse individuals with darker skin tones, while others raise the terms needed to rent the place, making it almost impossible for the average black person to sign an agreement.

According to a study by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, landlords often refuse people of African descent because some believe they are criminals or have too many children. These stereotypes harm the black population, preventing them from getting crucial accommodations for themselves and their family.

The situation becomes more tedious for immigrants as their post-arrival experience is riddled with fear, isolation, and anxiety. These individuals face discrimination from Landlords during the renting process as they encounter harassment and refusal for nothing more than their skin colour.

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Factors like culture, economics, and language barriers also reinforce these feelings of inferiority in African immigrants, and many are yet to adjust to Canada’s language or ways of operation.

Housing is also scarce in Canada due to extremely low vacancy rates, insufficient social accommodation, and rent-geared-to-income housing. Therefore, getting a place to stay becomes more tricky for immigrants since the low vacancy rate results in higher rent fees.

Unfortunately, limited data that describes the racial background of renters makes it challenging to demonstrate and quantify the extent of discrimination that renters of colour experience in housing.

The absence of this race-based data hinders the efforts of advocates from these communities to bring about changes in housing policies and practices to address discrimination.

Nevertheless, the limited data available from the University of Toronto indicates that there has been an increase in household income levels since the 1970s. Unfortunately, individuals living in low-income neighbourhoods still earn incomes that are below the average.

Even in neighbourhoods where income levels rise, there tends to be a decrease in the percentage of immigrants residing there. Consequently, the likelihood of residents in these neighbourhoods being people of colour also decreases significantly due to their economic state and discrimination.

While Canada’s black population and dark-skinned immigrants can challenge unfair housing requirements and racism due to Canada’s housing rights and the country’s anti-discrimination policies, many do not.

One reason is the hassle associated with filing a complaint and going through the necessary processes before emerging victorious. By that time, money and time have been spent, which isn’t something someone with limited time to find housing desires.

Another reason many African Canadians don’t challenge unfair housing requirements because some are unaware of Canada’s housing rights. Others don’t have the connection to community advocates to help find better housing in their desired neighbourhood.

Ultimately, the deliberate rejection of people of colour from acquiring housing in Canada is an act of pure racism and discrimination developed by unhealthy stereotypes of the black community. Such situations push these desperate individuals to low-income areas since Landlords raise the already high housing cost beyond the financial capacity of black renters.

Such acts of racism require additional efforts from the Canadian Government to implement a system to report discrimination regarding housing with quick resolution. Further action is needed to reform landlords to service people of colour according to the standard for Landlords, irrespective of what stereotypes they believe.

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Why Mark Wahlberg and the ‘CSI’ Creator Are Buying Into Vegas’ Luxury Real Estate Boom – Hollywood Reporter

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Average price of three-bed semi passes €300,000 – REA – RTE.ie

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