Sudbury is on the list of the best and worst kept homes in Ontario as compiled by a home insurance marketing company.
MyChoice, an online company that markets home and auto insurance, said the list is based on 2021 Census data and shows percentages for Ontario homes that require important repairs, listing the communities from best to worst by percentage figures.
A company news release said with the rise in HELOC rates (home equity line of credit) more homeowners are finding it challenging to manage home maintenance costs.
According to MyChoice, the disparities in home maintenance across Ontario cities might affect province-wide home insurance rates.
The company's latest study, showed Thunder Bay as the city most in need of home repairs with 7.6 per cent of responses.
The city of Vaughan, near Toronto, was at the opposite end of the list with only 2.5 percent of homeowners saying that repairs were required.
The complete list had 42 communities across Ontario.
Sudbury was No. 5 on the list of worst kept homes at 6.9 per cent, just behind fourth place Sault Ste. Marie at 7.1 per cent. There were no Northern Ontario communities on the list of best kept homes.
The list of repairs quoted by MyChoice included significant issues such as defective plumbing, electrical wiring, or structural repairs.
Aren Mirzaian, CEO of MyChoice, said the numbers in the survey have a broader economic context.
"The upsurge in HELOC rates is just one piece of the puzzle. We're seeing the inflation of home insurance rates in Canada, which, according to the Q3 Consumer Price Index, home and mortgage insurance rates have increased by 8.6 per cent in 2023. The largest contributor to this would be rising home replacement costs due to inflation of building materials," said Mirzaian.
He added that inflationary pressure on home insurance rates also coincides with a period of heightened natural disasters in Canada, contributing to an increase in claims and subsequent rise in premiums.
Mirzaian said homeowners are encouraged to mitigate claims risk in general by maintaining their homes to prevent minor issues from evolving into larger, more costly repairs.
