Thursday, September 27, 2007

Cottage Bylaw Support

The Easton Housing Partnership Committee is supporting the Cottage Community Developments as an innovative housing strategy for the Town of Easton.

It is the committee’s responsibility to explore opportunities that expand affordable housing in accordance with Easton’s Affordable Housing Plan. This includes developing “housing choices” in the Town of Easton. Between the cost and availability of developable land, and restrictive zoning and environmental regulations, creative solutions are imperative to develop housing. The committee believes cottage housing provides an innovative alternative that can potentially meet the needs of middle-income buyers while increasing housing stock diversity in the Town of Easton. Middle-income housing options should be part of every municipality’s housing strategy as it assists in providing homes for a demographic that is typically not considered in new construction projects.

Based on recent income and housing data, it is clear that middle-income households cannot afford to purchase newly constructed market rate housing and cannot qualify for affordable housing units that are restricted to low- and moderate-income households. Homes in Easton that are currently for-sale and are at or below the median sale price of $329,800 are generally aged and in need of various levels of maintenance. However, to purchase the cottage units, as proposed by Mirrione Realty with an estimated price of $300,000, a household would need to earn approximately $76,000, assuming a competitive interest rate . This is less than Easton’s 2005 median household income of $83,538.

The committee understands the units developed under this bylaw, as currently proposed, will not qualify for the State’s Subsidized Housing Inventory. HPC has requested that five percent of the units be restricted to households earning no more than 100% of the area median income. Although this restriction would prevent the unit(s) from being included in the Subsidized Housing Inventory, it would make clear the need for middle-income housing.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Promoting Starter Homes from the State Level?

In today's Boston Globe, there was an article on the affordability of housing in the Boston region which mentioned potential legislation that would require towns and cities to promote the construction of "starter homes".

Here is a blurb from the article.

"...propose legislation later this year that would either require or encourage municipalities to promote construction of "starter homes," which are in short supply in Boston's suburbs. The houses would be modest , on lots of 1,700 square feet or less, priced so families earning between about $80,000 and $130,000 could afford them."

Could it be that the true need for smaller housing is there but that the outrageous market of recent years has preculded the development of anything small. But 1,700 square-foot lots?? That must be a typo, right?

On May 21st, the Connecticut Post published an article stating that the State has proposed a bill that would provide up to $10 million to towns to support the development of affordable housing. This is the result of a study by Northeastern University's Barry Bluestone which stated that the cost of housing in Connecticut has led to a migration of 10% of the young working poplation.

Should State's really get involved in this market-driven housing issue? Could cottage development styles be one solution?
These developments have popped up in the pacific northwest as a way to provide "small" housing options for the empty-nesters and small families, and single people at a lesser price than a typical newly constructed single-family home would cost.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Affordable for Who!

Date of entry is really August 12, 2006!!!

The price of homeownership has been rising faster than income levels in much of the country which contributes to this problem that my family, as well as thousand of others, have been faced with. The low interest rate, albeit rising, environment has allowed people to buy homes that they wouldn't have normally been able to afford. Myself included. What's wrong with this picture? Interest rates have been rising at a conservative level for a year now and mortgage rates have, until recently, continued to decline. Would you have imagined ever seeing a 5%, 30 year fixed interest rate in the 1980's when rates were in the high teens! The spread on the 5 year ARM and the 30 year fixed became so close recently I wondered if anyone would dare lock an adjustable rate. We rolled the dice with -dare I say it publicly- an interest only, 3 year adjustable rate. I know experts are cool on the interest-only adjustable rate, but life events will force us from our two-bedroom, 1200 square-foot condo in another year or two when we, god willing, expand our family. For us, the interest only option made sense. To many others, its a risk.

The quest for homeownership has become an interest rate game more so than any other time in recent memory because of the unaffordability of many cities and towns. When we talk about $300 per square foot as being inexpensive for a condominium in the megalopolis, its tough for your "average Joe" to make a dent in the ownership arena. Lets not even mention the $1000 per square foot condominiums in Boston and New York. Its down right scary!