Habitat for Humanity Sarnia-Lambton has seven active build sites right now.
Two homes are being built on the corner of College Avenue and Davis Street, one on Davis Street and four at Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
CEO David Waters said it's the most builds they've ever had going at one time.
"Back in 2018 we did five, but it was all at one site, we did the Guthrie senior project. The ones at Kettle and Stony Point likely should have been wrapped up by now, but because of the pandemic, it hit a lot of speed bumps."
Waters said the builds near Sarnia's downtown are also running behind.
"None of our homes this year are going to be passed off before the end of the year because of delays in materials or services. Getting things that we need to build, it's just been slow."
He said while you can get lumber, "the price is ridiculous," foundation blocks have been hard to get, and they've had last minute servicing cancellations.
"Our excavator that was supposed to dig our College homes on a Monday, called us on the Thursday before the Monday and said they can't dig."
Waters said they continue to look for lots that can be divided to accommodate more than one house.
"Real estate is at an all time high in our community and finding lots is becoming more and more challenging for Habitat. If you go back five years, we would spend $25,000 to $30,000 on a lot. Now, you're lucky to get those lots for $80,000 or $90,000 and by the time we service the lot, that's another $25,000. So, we're into a lot for over $100,000 and we haven't even built the home yet."
Despite the obstacles, Waters is upbeat.
"We're just plugging away, doing what Habitat does, trying to house people affordably and break that cycle of what we feel is poverty in the rental market for families today and help them out as much as we can."
We are excited to announce that we have finally broke ground on the Davis Street home this morning.
This single home will be neighbours with our two current College Ave Build families.#HereWeBuildAgain pic.twitter.com/3J5DJQnycl
— HFH Sarnia/Lambton (@habitatsarnia) October 15, 2021
