TRENDS IN HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Housing supply (housing units (not households)) and housing mix
Consider the mix of housing units found in the city:
Single-family detached and attached
Multi-family
Manufactured housing and other
Is the housing supply and mix adequate given the trends/needs in the demographics (age groups & types of households)?
2. Housing Tenure: What changes have occurred?
What proportion of the occupied housing stock is renter occupied and owner occupied?
If this has changed over time, what do you think are the contributing factors? e.g. changes in housing costs, income or demographics.
3. What is happening to the housing vacancy rates?
Are housing vacancy rates high or low and have housing vacancy rates increased or decreased over time?
Appropriate housing vacancy rates are
5% overall
7-8% for rental
2% for owner-occupied
These rates allow for transitions in the housing market (selling, purchasing, foreclosure, moving, removal/demolition). What happens if vacancy rate are too
high or too low?
4. Have housing costs gone up or down (i.e. median home price and median rent).
Compare these trends to income trends and what it means
5. What of housing affordability?
What proportion (%) of households are paying over 30% and over 50% of their income on housing and has this increased or decreased?
Look up National Low Income Housing Coalition’s most recent “Out Of Reach” data for the metropolitan area for your city. What does the data indicate?
( http://nlihc.org/oor )
