What does affordable housing mean?

One of the more interesting issues facing young people today, whether they live in a large city or smaller rural community, is the cost of housing.
Everyone is looking for affordable housing, but that means different things to different people and has different pricing whether in an urban or rural centre.
Affordable housing changes on the medium incomes earned in the home.
Here in Fort Frances, the Rental Housing Index indicates the average cost for rent and utilities amounts to $726. In Kenora, the amount is $872 while in Dryden, the figure is $818.
Thunder Bay has an average cost of $843.
Across Ontario, the average monthly cost for rent and utilities is $1,109, although it jumps to $1,242 in Toronto.
A different comparison would be what proportion of family income is spent on rent in a community. It is great way to compare. In Fort Frances, for instance, the average spent is 23 percent of income but 44 percent of the population is spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
Fort Frances has the lowest median income in the northwest at $30,292, with an average household income of $38,347.
Kenora has the average spend at 22 percent of income, with 42 percent of its population spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The average Kenora household income is $46,752.
Dryden has an average household spend of 25 percent of income, with 45 percent of households spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing and utilities. The average household income there is $48,696.
Across Ontario, the median household income is $41,750 while the average household income is $53,691.
In Fort Frances, 15 percent of households spend more than 50 percent of income on rent and utilities, compared to Dryden (12 percent), Kenora (13 percent), and Thunder Bay (16 percent).
In Toronto, 23 percent of the population pays more than 50 percent of their income on rent and utilities.
In Canada, housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30 percent of a household’s before tax income. Affordable housing not only accounts for rental housing subsidized by government but also broadly covers all types of housing, whether it is private, public, or non-profit.
Home ownership has been declining across Canada in the last decade while the costs of building has been rising. The costs of building a new home is now running $250-$300 per square foot, without the costs of a building lot or putting in septic fields and wells factored in.
Locally, should the question be what is affordable housing or why aren’t developers looking to build homes in subdivisions on speculation?
Are younger families looking for more choices in new housing?