Full Podcast: https://lovethenorth.ca/article/260910-sudbury-ward-eric-benoit-on Ward 2 Councillor Eric Benoit says housing affordability in Sudbury is being driven by a simple problem: **there are not enough homes available for the number of people who want to live here.** Benoit says Greater Sudbury is working on hundreds of affordable housing units while also trying to reduce red tape and encourage more private development. His view is that affordability is not only about building subsidized apartments — it is also about increasing the total supply of homes across every price range. He explains that when vacancy is extremely low, people end up competing for whatever is available. Someone who might prefer a larger apartment or a modestly priced home can be forced into a much more expensive option simply because there is nothing else on the market. Benoit points out that even higher-end construction can help free up lower-priced housing. If someone buys a new $1-million home, for example, that can open up the $400,000 home they may otherwise have purchased. The challenge is that prices have moved dramatically. During the discussion, Benoit talks about camps that once might have sold for around $50,000 being purchased for close to $200,000 because people were desperate to find something they could afford to live in. His argument is that Northern Ontario needs **more housing of every kind** — apartments, starter homes, family homes and new construction — along with a permitting system that protects building standards without unnecessarily slowing development. **If demand keeps rising while supply stays tight, affordability will remain out of reach for more Northern families.** #Sudbury #HousingAffordability #AffordableHousing #NorthernOntario #Ward2 #EricBenoit #HousingSupply #HomePrices #GreaterSudbury #LoveTheNorth