Alarming Shortage of Affordable Housing, Leon Reed
[Gettysburg Times, April7, 2023]
I recently came across Habitat for Humanity’s “2022 State of Home Affordability in Pennsylvania” broadside. It’s an eye-opening document and a warning to every one of us.
The headline news is that housing in Pennsylvania is shockingly unaffordable. Most authorities agree that families and individuals should spend no more than 30% of their income on housing. Anything beyond that and something else: food, medical expenses, etc. has to give. So, how is Pennsylvania doing?
According to Habitat, pretty poorly. One out of every eight Pennsylvania households is spending more than half their income on housing, far exceeding the guidelines And double that number, 27% of all Pennsylvania households, exceed the 30% guidelines.
Yes, this is a national problem that afflicts every state. But the fact that many other communities cannot provide housing for all doesn’t make our problem any better – or more justifiable
Unsurprisingly, the situation is worse in the lower half of the income spectrum. An astounding two-thirds of all renters earning $50,000 a year or less pay more than 30% of their income for housing, with more than a third (38%) paying more than half.
OK, that’s the end of the math lesson. This is a crisis – and a scandal. One problem affordable housing advocates have is the knee jerk reaction people have that “affordable” is a synonym for “housing for poor people” or “public housing” or “Section 8.” I don’t understand why people are less concerned about the housing poor people live in, but whatever your attitudes about that issue, that’s not we’re talking about here.
The median income of renters in Pennsylvania is $39,100. “Less than $50,000” includes a lot of people. Right now, the Adams County real estate development industry is doing a great job of supplying houses to people who don’t live here right now. But if you live here, good luck.
This is a moral problem. It’s also an economic development problem. Employers won’t relocate or expand in areas where their employees can’t find a place to live. Our high school grads will continue not to return back home when they finish college, our local college grads will continue to take their sheepskins and head for greener pastures. And we will become more and more a community of senior citizens. Do we want to live in “The Villages North?” And if we go that route, where will all thev home health care aides live? Not in Adams Countty.
Habitat’s ”Cost of Home” initiative is “a five-year advocacy campaign through which local Habitat organizations, partners, volunteers, and community members nationwide are working to increase home affordability for 10 million people.”
This isn’t just a matter of building “affordable housing,” though that’s a part. It also includes access to down payment assistance, Improved zoning, incentivizing investment, and increasing the availability and mobility of housing choice vouchers. People concerned about housing in Adams County should look at this program.
Leon Reed, a former staffer on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is a board member of the Adams County chapter of Habitat for Humanity and is a member of the steering committee for the @ Home Initiative.