Washington Area Housing Partnership Affordable Housing Briefing The City of Takoma Park May 23, 2006 Dara Dann

Affordable Housing In the Metropolitan Washington Region, we are a victim of our own success. This region is a great place to live, work, visit, and invest. Unfortunately though, it is unaffordable for many who live here.

Average Home Sales Price of Homes (1999 - 2005) (Source: MRIS and WAHP 2006)

Problem Statement The escalating housing costs in the metropolitan region make recruiting new teachers, police officers, and firefighters difficult. $466,569 Avg. Sales Price of a housing unit in the Metropolitan Region. (Source: 1st Quarter 2006 Metropolitan Regional Information Systems) $425,000 Median Sales Price of a housing unit in Montgomery County. Households earning less than $113,000 annually are unable to afford the Median Sales Priced Home in Montgomery County. (Source: 2006 WAHP and Metropolitan Regional Information Systems)

Avg. Monthly Occupational Income for Washington Region compared to the Monthly Mortgage Cost for the Current Median Priced Home Sold in Montgomery Co. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, MRIS, and WAHP) $2,827 Monthly Mortgage of Median Priced Home Sold in Montgomery Co. *Monthly cost based on 2005 MRIS home sales data ($485,000 loan at a 7% interest rate over 30 years) Note: Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay.

Workforce Housing Benefits the Community and the Economy Attracts new residents that provide everyday services to a community, such as teachers, child care providers and law enforcement officers. Creates options for residents to live near their place of employment, thus reducing traffic congestion and time spent away from families. Housing Costs are crucial to 67.6% of business location decisions. Source: Development Magazine Means never having to tell your graduates, new families, disabled, or seniors, "you must leave us because there is no housing for you."

The Partnership: Convenes regional leaders and stakeholders to advocate for expansion of affordable housing opportunities. Researches and reports on local housing policies and provides technical assistance to non-profit organizations and local governments. Recognizes successful local government policies and programs through the Partnership’s Best Practice Awards. Includes lending institutions, national advocacy groups, local governments and affordable housing developers.

The Toolkit Outlines affordable housing best practices Provides examples of successful implementation by local governments Launched Dec. 2005

Funding provided by: