Half Of Americans Pay Too Much For Housing

A new Harvard study found that about half of Americans are paying too much for rent. Though perhaps in unsurprising find, the study does provide some hard numbers that are worth examining.

What does “too much” mean? The study defined Americans who pay 30% of their income or more in rent to be “cost-burdened” and those paying 50% or more to be “severely cost-burdened”.  Results reported that in 2011, 50% of Americans were cost burdened compared to 25% in 1960. 28% of Americans in 2011 were severely cost burdened.

Photo courtesy of bill lapp via flickrcc

In layman’s terms, the study concluded that the availability of new, affordable apartments has been nowhere near the growing demand and that the gap between the two has been widening annually since the 2007 recession.

Though the stream of foreclosures during the recession did provide an influx of rental structures, the growing prices of homes zoned out a large portion of the population from the possibility of home ownership and the resulting increase in demand for rental housing quickly outpaced the supply the foreclosed homes provided.

Michaels Development Company Constructs Affordable Housing in Ohio

A new affordable housing facility is under development in Dayton, Ohio. Based in the Germantown-Broadway area, the aptly named Germantown Village is being developed by the Michaels Development Company.

Michaels Development Company’s vice president of development Scott Puffer promises to both long-term housing needs and revival of a positive community in the Germantown-Broadway area, stating that Germantown Village was the beginning of a multiphase project to restore the Germantown area by providing alternatives to the many dilapidated residential properties that currently exist.

The first phase of Germantown Village includes 5 buildings encompassing 60 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms. The new apartments will feature modern HVAC (heating/ ventilation/ air conditioning) and Energy Star appliances and the buildings themselves will offer amenities such as playgrounds, gardens and a community room. Over half of the apartments offer affordable rent to those earning below 50% of the area’s median income.

The development is reported to cost $12.8 million and will be managed by the Interstate Realty Management Company.