Housing Affordability was a term that used to apply only to persons of limited income. In the 21st century Washington County is finding that families making more than half of the median income for our community are challenged to find decent rental or ownership units. This page will provide some of the background information that informs the discussion of how public resources should be used to address housing needs.
Affordability
How much can a family afford? (a 2/08 publication by the National Low Income Housing Coalition that examines the history of the "30% of income" rule of thumb)
What is affordable, and how does this apply to Washington County?
Is there a deficit of affordable units here?
Affordability Mismatch Output - Washington County
Affordability Mismatch Output - City of Hagerstown
A full listing of assisted housing resources in Washington County.
Do we have too much assisted housing in Washington County?
Indicators of Housing Affordability in Washington County.
Income limit tables.
State Resources
Information and excerpts from the Governor’s Commission on Housing Policy “Final Report 2004" Where owners and renters live (Typology), by Urban, Suburban, Exurban and Rural classifications, combined with affordability
information.
Authority for Counties to enact affordable housing measures granted by Maryland law in 2008
Some notes on the current housing "crisis"
House prices increased dramatically between 2000 and 2005. Between 2000 and 2003 interest rates declined. Buyers during the first half of the decade had to pay these increasing home prices, plus many of those who were already homeowners gave in to the temptation to “cash in” on the increased value of their homes with a second mortgage. The extra borrowed cash was used to pay off consumer debt, to do major home repairs or even to buy second homes or investment properties. With house values on the rise, many lending institutions, seeing a business opportunity, relaxed their underwriting standards. Families whose income and employment characteristics previously had excluded them from purchasing a home committed themselves financially to adjustable rate mortgage products. Unfortunately while home prices were booming, household income barely changed. Average income adjusted for inflation of the highest 5% of wage earners increased by 2% between 2000 and 2006, while the average for the bottom 95% actually declined by 1%. One result has been a marked increase in the number of households paying more than 50% of income for housing - 18 million in 2006, up from 14 million in 2001. While only 2.3 million of the 14 million (16.4%) were homeowners in 2001, 8.8 of the 18 million in 2006 (49%) were homeowners.
Source: Journal of Housing and Community Development, May/June 2008
Talking about Homes
We have been very impressed with the work done by the California chapter of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. They studied community attitudes and concluded that the public understands the concept of decent homes but talk of "housing programs" or "affordable housing" brings up the image of something the government does for people who are poor. We would invite you to visit their resource page online.
The Housing Authority of Washington County has an active Education Subcommittee that is working to reframe the way we talk about the need for decent homes for all of our citizens. We invite you to read the paper "HOME: The Foundation for Life" which we have adapted to conditions here in Maryland.