Map of Sandy Hill’s Active Rental

Title

Map of Sandy Hill’s Active Rental

Subject

This research focuses on the demographics of Sandy Hill’s housing, specifically rental properties and apartments.

Description

Our group mapped apartments and rental properties in Sandy Hill. This topic is important for understanding food assets because it maps physical distance between people and food sources, as well as the financial status of people who live in rental properties and how much money they have to spend on food.

Sources for our findings include real estate agents (collect information on housing for the purpose of selling, investing, and advising others), and Statistics Canada.

The average household income in Sandy Hill before taxes is $87,400. The median household income before taxes is $62,400. (CMHC, 2020)

There is a large student population in Sandy Hill, which likely contributes to the lower average income in the neighbourhood as opposed to the Ottawa average. Students tend to live on the west side of the neighbourhood, closer to the University of Ottawa campus where household income is generally lower (John Castle, 2023). Additionally, Sandy Hill has a slightly higher than average rent for single-person households compared to the Ottawa average. Sandy Hill has also had rapid growth in population since 2017, with unemployment rates being higher than the national average (John Castle, 2023). Vacancy rates rose during the pandemic but have since recovered (CMHC, 2020). According to residents, housing is a major point of complaint, as rent prices have been high in recent years (areavibes.com via Statistics Canada).

According to a study done focusing on student living in Ottawa and Ontario "The average rent paid by students surveyed is $926.8, with 95% (n= 310) identifying rent prices as a primary challenge. Students in Ontario face a higher average rent ($935.4) compared to those in Quebec ($830.1). Financially, 25% (n= 106) of respondents rely solely on employment income. A student earning the minimum wage in Ottawa ($17.20/h) would need to work 54 hours per month just to cover the average rent cost, excluding tuition, food and transportation costs."STUDENT HOUSING CAUCUS REPORT

A large number of apartment buildings in Sandy Hill are on the north side of the neighbourhood, close to Rideau Street. It is difficult to tell if a property is owned or rented during a walkthrough of the neighbourhood. For example, often historic buildings are converted and/or renovated into multiple rentable units, but that it is impossible to tell just by looking at them.

The interactive Google Map, below, shows some of the rentals and single family homes we marked.  This map is not complete as we did a pedestrian survey of the neighborhood.  We will be updating this map at a later time.

Creator

Sarah Donaldson & Sarah Struthers

Date

April 8

Language

English

URL