Affordable Housing?

Was reading this story from the Bulletin City eyes row housing option thinking great this could be another means of creating affordable housing in the city. Reading on I found that in Langford some of these homes are as small as 400sq. ft. good enough for a single person or possibly a couple, but a family likely not. In Langford the cost of these homes, meer inches from each other, would begin at $199,000. Councillor Holdom says he worries about maintenance costs of homes so close together, me I would worry about safety in the event of a fire. One would hope there would be some kind of regulation to amend this concern.

Getting back to the affordability; my question is affordable for whom? With no money down a person would be looking, even with interest rates being as low as they are, at roughly $1200.00 a month. When you add phone, hydro, insurance, etc you would be looking at a minimum of $1600.00 per month. If a person were to make $12.00 an hour every cent earned would go to pay for the mortgage and bills. If one looks at over %30 of income towards housing as an indicator of poverty this person would be destitute. To afford payments like these one would have to be making over $20.00 an hour or at least have a combined income of such. So again one would have to ask, in this economic climate and even in better times, affordable to whom.