This article was orginally published here first: A Crisis of Affordability in New Orleans and Nation
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Now in our 10th year, we believe it is vital that we provide context around the challenges of homeownership not only in New Orleans but on a national level as well. Through our journey providing low-moderate income families with affordable homeownership opportunities, we have learned about many of the struggles these families face.
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Article #2: A Crisis of Affordability in New Orleans and Nation
By Matthew Gonzales
Recently New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has pledged to “build or preserve” 7,500 affordable housing units in New Orleans by 2021. A city led effort to prioritize and respond to the affordable housing crisis is welcome news. However, given the current spending constraints in Louisiana, it is worth questioning whether this will be enough to address the issue of affordability in housing.
In New Orleans 55 percent of residents rent, a number that is 20 points above the national average. Many New Orleanians are paying above 50 percent of their already stretched incomes toward housing costs, a situation that for many has become a slow moving disaster. Residents are particularly vulnerable to the rising costs of housing. Those costs have risen on average 50 percent in the past 10 years with no substantial increases in wages to match.
It can be tempting to lay the blame for recent increases in the cost of housing on specific local issues. Certainly the sudden preponderance of housing units being used for short-term rentals or a recent influx in new residents contribute to the problem. Yet, recent data suggests that this is an issue that is affecting the entire country. It will then be helpful to develop a nationwide context to gain perspective and help us better understand and address this issue.
Recently The Atlantic’s CityLab reported that there are zero counties in the US that have enough housing for families in poverty. This means that in counties as diverse as rural Montana, suburban Denver, or in the City of New Orleans there are none with enough housing for low-income families. Additionally, they report that since the year 2000, rents across the country have increased, affordable housing stocks have declined, and more and more families are in desperate need of a place to live that doesn’t break the bank. Recently The Urban Institute reported that nationwide, of families that are “extremely low-income renters” (families that are making 30 percent of Area Median Income), there are only 28 units of housing that are affordable for every 100 families in need.
Nationwide, half of renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent, and a quarter spend over 50 percent. Recent projections by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and Enterprise Community Partners indicate that over the next 10 years the U.S. rental population will increase by 4 million. The Urban Institute projects that the population of new renters could grow by nearly 11 million and the population of those who are severely rent burdened (that who pay over 50 percent of their income towards housing costs) will increase by 11 percent.
It isn’t just New Orleans, the entirety of the United States is facing an affordable housing Crisis. The common thread between all communities facing this crisis, which at this point is every community, is the availability of housing. Currently the amount of new housing being built is about half the historical rate. A dense thicket of issues including zoning that limits density, the recent surge in short-term rentals, stagnant wages, slashed budgets for affordable housing programs, have all contributed to this crisis.
While ALL of these issues cannot be addressed immediately or at once, one clear and common sense thing that can be done to help alleviate the most pressing problems associated with the lack of affordable housing is to make it a priority and to build more! It is imperative that organizations begin to coordinate to address this issue at the level at which it is occurring. This means advocacy for greater resources invested at a national level based on an honest assessment of what has worked in cities and states around the country.
JERICHO ROAD EPISCOPAL HOUSING INITIATIVE
2919 St. Charles Avenue · New Orleans, LA 70115 · (504) 895-6763 · info@jerichohousing.org
www.JerichoHousing.org
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