Michael Ruge Why the Housing Crisis Is an Economic Issue Too

When a local business puts a “Help Wanted” sign in the window, you’d normally assume it has a labour problem.

But what if the real problem is housing?

That’s one of the more interesting connections Michael Ruge makes when discussing the Housing Crisis on southern Vancouver Island.

Businesses may have jobs available. People may be willing to work. Employers may even be ready to expand.

None of that solves the problem if employees can’t find somewhere nearby to live.

When Housing Shortages Reach the Workplace

In Building Hope in Housing, Ruge describes a fast-food franchise that wanted to hire and grow but needed housing for its workers.

The owner told Ruge’s team that the business could take 25 housing units immediately.

Other businesses were experiencing similar pressures.

It’s a simple example, but it changes the way we think about the Housing Crisis.

Housing is usually discussed as a household expense. Rent is too high. Mortgages are difficult to qualify for. Down payments are out of reach.

Those are serious issues.

But housing also determines whether communities can attract and retain the people needed to keep local businesses operating.

A restaurant can’t serve more customers without employees. A shop can’t extend its hours without staff. A growing employer can’t keep adding jobs indefinitely if workers have nowhere practical to live.

The Housing Chain Reaction

Michael Ruge describes exceptionally tight rental conditions on southern Vancouver Island.

When people can’t find the type of accommodation they would normally choose, they don’t simply disappear from the market. They look elsewhere.

Someone who would normally rent a mid-range apartment may settle for a less expensive unit because that’s all they can find.

That person has now taken a unit that might otherwise have gone to someone with a smaller housing budget.

The pressure moves down the market.

People with the fewest alternatives can end up facing the greatest difficulty.

That’s why adding supply at different price points matters. A new home doesn’t only help the person who moves into it. Their previous home may become available to someone else, creating movement through the housing market.

A Shortage Measured in Millions

Building Hope in the Housing Michael Ruge The scale of the wider Housing Crisis is enormous.

Ruge’s chapter cites estimates suggesting Canada is short between 3.5 million and 5.5 million homes.

The United States has similar challenges. The chapter refers to a shortage of nearly seven million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters, along with an overall housing shortage estimated in the millions.

Those numbers can make the problem sound almost impossible.

Ruge rejects that conclusion.

His view is that the Housing Crisis can be solved, but it will require many developers building projects of many different sizes.

Some may create five units. Others may build 50 or 500.

Together, they increase supply.

Build Where Growth Is Already Going

One of Michael Ruge’s strategies is to align housing development with the direction municipalities already want to take.

Instead of buying land and spending years trying to convince a city to allow density, his team looks for places where apartments and townhouses are already likely to be part of the future.

They assemble individual properties, often keeping existing houses rented during the process.

Once enough land has been assembled, a larger developer can take over the major development work.

This strategy doesn’t remove every complication, but it can avoid creating unnecessary ones.

That’s important because delays cost money.

The chapter argues that permits, planning approvals, development charges and other bureaucratic requirements have become a significant part of housing development costs.

When costs increase, developers eventually have to account for them.

And that can affect affordability.

Housing Near Jobs Makes Communities Stronger

One of Ruge’s rent-to-own projects illustrates the link between housing and economic activity particularly well.

The project includes 170 suites and is located close to a university, with numerous fast-food businesses nearby.

Those businesses need employees.

Residents need employment opportunities.

Putting the two close together creates a relationship that can benefit both.

Ruge describes housing and economic development as symbiotic. That’s a useful way to put it.

People need homes to participate fully in their communities. Businesses need people. Communities need both.

Affordability Needs More Than One Solution

Ruge’s projects include traditional rentals, land assemblies, office conversions and rent-to-own housing.

That variety matters because the Housing Crisis doesn’t affect everyone in exactly the same way.

Some people need an affordable rental.

Others can afford monthly housing costs but struggle to make the jump into ownership.

Some communities need more density near employment.

Others have obsolete buildings that might be suitable for conversion.

There is no reason to insist that every housing problem must have the same answer.

Michael Ruge’s Bigger Point

It’s tempting to treat housing as a separate issue from the rest of community planning.

Build homes over here. Create jobs over there. Talk about transportation somewhere else.

Real life doesn’t work that neatly.

Where people live influences where they work, how far they travel, what businesses can operate and whether communities can grow.

Michael Ruge’s experience on southern Vancouver Island provides a reminder that solving the Housing Crisis can do more than put roofs over people’s heads.

More housing can support workers.

Workers can support businesses.

Businesses can support communities.

And communities with enough housing have a much better chance of growing in a way that works for the people who actually live there.

Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).