|
News and Resources
on Affordable Housing
Affordability in Connecticut, 2008:
117 Towns Unaffordable for Most HOMEConnecticut's annual Affordability in Connecticut study is now available for 2008, showing that, despite the sharp declines in housing prices, buying a home in 117 of the state's 169 towns - 69% - remains unaffordable for most residents. The study is an analysis of the ability of a household making median income to afford a median sales priced home in each of state's towns and cities, with the towns ranked by the gap between the income needed to afford a median priced home and the median income for each town in the state.The 2008 data show that the recent decline of housing prices in Connecticut has led to a lessening of that gap for many towns in the state, as median incomes continued to rise in 2008. However, tightening credit standards and rising unemployment may mean that fewer towns are truly affordable than can be accounted for in this analysis. The data used in the study was provided by the Warren Group and the Connecticut Economic Resource Center. The study also found: - In 2008, 59% of CT towns had a gap between median income and qualifying income of $5,000 or more.
- The median sales price of a home either stayed the same or increased from 2007 to 2008 in 39 towns.
- The five least affordable towns remained the same when compared to 2007.
Click on the links below to view HOMEConnecticut's "Affordability in Connecticut, 2008" report: You can also view the 2007 Affordability Study or the 2006 Affordability Study.
Housing Myths and Facts Often misconceptions guide housing policy decisions. Below are some resources that can help you make informed decisions about affordable housing. Studies on Workforce Housing Creating new housing options for all who need them: a look at what's real, what's possible and what's not
Stan McMillen, Ph.D., Managing Economist, CT Department of Economic and Community Development
This presentation addresses myths about what affordable housing means to a community and puts forth key data on population trends in Connecticut (the “brain drain”) and the implications of this trend for the state’s future economic well-being. 2007/2008 Workforce Housing Study
United Way of Greenwich
Full Report
Executive Summary
Presentation
In response to the lack of affordable housing opportunities for young families, seniors, professionals, and service personnel in their town, the United Way of Greenwich commissioned this study, which found that a large percentage of professionals such as municipal employees and teachers in Greenwich cannot afford to live there. The study proposes solutions to reinvest in the economic vitality of the community through creating affordable housing options. Housing Facts and Data Housing and Homelessness: The Facts
Partnership for Strong Communities
This data report pertaining to housing in Connecticut is a reference for anyone looking for information on various housing statistics - from housing characteristics, to affordable housing, to burdened households - without having to search through multiple reports, websites, and databases. You can find all of the data you need in one pdf, including sources and links to the websites of the organizations providing the information. The pdf file is updated regularly as new data becomes available. New Perspectives on the Need for Affordable Housing in Connecticut
Don Klepper-Smith, Chief Economist and Director of Research, DataCore Partners
Full Study
Executive Summary
Updated Study - 2008
Information Packet Accompanying Updated Study - 2008
This Connecticut-based study commissioned by the Partnership for Strong Communities analyzes the housing cost/wage gap, the affordablility problem, the out-migration problem, the impact on state revenue, and the impact on businesses. Studies on Affordable Housing and School Costs The Fiscal Impact of Mixed-Income Housing Developments on Massachusetts Municipalities
UMass Donahue Institute
Many municipalities worry about the costs related to additional school age children that they think affordable housing will bring to their community. This study demonstrates that school costs in Massachusetts rose independently of school enrollment and that increased costs were usually due to rises health care costs and pensions expenses. Residential Demographic Multipliers: Estimates of the Occupants of New Housing
Rutgers University, Center for Urban Policy Research
This Rutgers study demonstrates that one or two bedroom apartments will bring a community small numbers of school age children. Studies on Affordable Housing and Neighboring Property Values Effects of Mixed-Income, Multi-Family Rental Housing Developments on Single-Family Housing Values
MIT's Center for Real Estate Housing Affordability Initiative
A study of seven developments of mixed-income rental housing (built under the Massachusetts inclusionary zoning law) to determine whether the values of neighboring properties were adversely impacted. The study found that the developments did not negatively impact the sale prices of houses in communities that were in the neighborhoods surrounding the mixed-income rental developments. Affordable Housing and Property Values
Enterprise Foundation
Reviews and summarizes 14 research publications dealing with the effects of affordable housing on the market value of neighboring properties. The reports found that subsidized, special-purpose or manufactured housing had either a positive effect or no negative effect on nearby property values.
HOMEConnecticut Progress Report At HOMEConnecticut's June 4, 2008 press conference, the campaign released its HOMEConnecticut Progress Report documenting the first year of the statute's existence and recapping how the program addresses a wide variety of needs such as wise land use, municipal control over housing production, and state revenue generation. The report also addresses timely concerns such as: - the retention of desperately-needed workers,
- solutions to the overall housing shortage of housing that has driven up prices,
- the importance of zoning in addressing housing affordability,
the benefits of housing density, and - the high-quality design of most affordable and mixed-income housing built in Connecticut today.
The Report highlights the contributions of the Office of Policy and Management, Department of Economic and Community Development, the General Assembly, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Housing and Economic Growth, the Responsible Growth Task Force, many municipalities and regional councils of governments, and a wide variety of constituencies without whom the progress of this program and campaign would not be possible. The report also includes testimonials from town officials, school superintendents, police chiefs, planners, assessors and more who attest to the value of affordable and mixed-income housing in their communities, and the help the HOMEConnecticut program offers in attaining it. Click here to read the full Progress Report.
Affordable Housing Can Help Solve
Student Performance, Behavior, and Stability Newly compiled data from large Connecticut school districts indicates that lower-income districts must contend with transient student populations and the performance and behavior problems that researchers have found as a result of lower stability rates. (Read full report here.) Because most student mobility results from changes in residence – often because housing is unaffordable – the research seems to suggest that creation of affordable housing options for families could help improve performance and reduce behavioral problems. Poorer, low-performance school districts are disproportionately affected the worst by mobility. In the 2006-2007 school year, the most affluent districts’ average stability rate was 95.2% while the poorest districts’ average was 77.2%, according to data from the state Department of Education reviewed by Christine Mwaturura, a research assistant at the Partnership for Strong Communities. Stability rates lower than 80% classify districts as “highly mobile. ”Numerous studies have shown that frequent transfers between schools negatively impact the academic performance of students. Mobile students are more likely to underperform in reading and mathematics, are more likely to be retained in a grade, and are less likely to graduate. High mobility has also been linked to negative behavioral traits; students who change elementary schools several times are 20% more likely to exhibit violent behavior in high school. Most cases of mobility (58%) are related to residential moves, which seems to suggest that solving housing related issues can mitigate the mobility problem. Increasing the affordable housing stock can give low-income families the ability to afford staying in their homes. Pockets of poverty, which keep mobile students travelling within a circuit of low-performance schools, can also be dissolved by creating more affordable housing options outside of these pockets." To read the full report on LyceumCenter.org, click here.
CT Housing Facts Report The Lyceum website now features “Housing and Homelessness: The Facts” (pdf file), a data report pertaining to housing in Connecticut compiled by staff of the Partnership for Strong Communities. Find housing-related facts from housing characteristics, to affordable housing, to burdened households, without having to search through multiple reports, websites, and databases. You can find all of the data you need in one report, including sources and links to the websites of the organizations providing the information. Click here to view Housing and Homelessness: The Facts.
Fact Sheets about Affordable Housing Want to know more about affordable housing and why we need it? Look at the fact sheets below:
Examples of By-laws/Ordinances and
Design Standards from MA The new HOMEConnecticut statute - the Connecticut Housing Program for Economic Growth - provides incentives to towns that create overlay zones which allow for mixed-income housing at higher densities. This statute is based on a Massachusetts program already in effect, known as Chapter 40R. Over two dozen towns in Massachusetts have begun working on their overlay zones. Below are examples of the by-laws/ordinances and design standards that have been developed in a few of those towns: Belmont, MA Brockton, MA Kingston, MA Please note that, generally, images in these documents are proprietary.
Resources Help People "Visualize Density" A number of web-based resources exist to help people better understand what density is and what different levels of density can look like. An important issue to remember is that design is crucial to making housing of any density look attractive and fit in with the surrounding neighborhoods.
Federal Reserve Study on Declining Housing Affordability The March 2007 policy brief from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Policy Center focuses its attention on housing affordability and what it means for both middle-income and low-income households in New England. The study shows that due to rising housing prices, middle-income households are beginning to buy or rent cheaper housing, leaving low-income people with fewer and fewer options for housing they can afford. The full brief is available here:
Connecticut's Shrinking Young Adult Population Connecticut has lost a higher percentage of its 25 to 34 year old population than any other state since 1990, as shown in the following research brief issued by the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute. The brief also discusses some of the policy implications resulting from a lack of young adults in the region.
|
News/Resources 
