Terrace locals pushed out of housing market in LNG rush, says councillor
'We are all one paycheque away from being out on the street,' says outreach worker
A Terrace city councillor is calling on the province to build more income-geared housing, as speculation over liquefied natural gas prospects fuels increased housing demand.
"People move here because of that, and move here to find out that there are no jobs here and there may not be jobs," said Coun. Stacey Tyres.
"A lot of it is speculation and so we have a lot of people buying into our market ... Terrace is climbing in the cost of housing."
But, Tyres says, the city needs more bachelor or one bedrooms units to be able to meet demand.
"We don't have those available. Most of what we have are two or three bedroom apartments that demand larger price tags," she said.
Mike Watson, an outreach worker with the Terrace and District Community Services, says the high cost of rent has left many people homeless.
"We are all one paycheque away from being out on the street," said Watson. "Rents here have doubled up...A single room up here, most places want like $900."
The city's latest homeless count was 76 — a figure too high for a population of almost 12,000, says Tyres.