The Problem Of Housing Affordability Essay

Mark Cooper CIH Level 3 March 2013 Assignment 3 Report on Provisions of Affordable Housing Contents: 1. Aim 2. Housing 3. Housing Deprivation 4. Urban Policy 5. Stock by Tenure 6. LGA Housing Stock 7. Right to Buy Entitlement 8. Community Stability & Regeneration 9. Accessibility of Affordable Housing 10. Accessing Affordable Housing 11. Conclusion Information Report: Economic Factors Affecting Policy and Provision of Affordable Housing Mark Cooper 25th March 2013 1.Aim: This report aims to examine and show how economic factors and housing policy have affected provision of affordable housing in Dundee from mid 1900’s to present day. It will show evolution of

Background Housing Affordability in Australia has become the focus point for urban planners in recent years. In particular, South East Queensland (SEQ) has experienced significant pressure as the demand for property and affordable dwellings increases and population growth in the region continues. The issue has come to the forefront in discussions for local governments in the region and there is a real need to address the problem of housing affordability. The subject of affordability is complex and is contributed to by a number of factors including the impost created by Council processes, which is the scope of the HAF-T5 Project.

America Needs Affordable Housing It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people

To tackle the housing affordability, first of all, it is crucial to lift the supply of housing as it will release the pressure on the housing price. Nevertheless, the supply of housing is inelastic as it requires an adequate fund, time, approval from the Government. Besides, the housing system is

With only 5% of the housing units being secured by the Housing Authority, specific types of home are limited to families. The average household size is expected to decrease to 2.04 persons by 2014 (Source). 33% of all households are suited for two people and there is a need for those types of units (source). With there being such a high demand for such a household, the downfall is that that small unit homes for two person families

Two economic factors affect supply in a stable housing market, price of related goods or similar houses, and the price of the good, best represented by style or size in the case of the housing market. The affluence of a community typically determines how much homes sell for in those communities, and therefore communities where a lot of people want to live become areas where average home prices are high. (Kumar, 1) There is little space in these affluent communities, and therefore little supply. A good example is New York City, where no homes are available, only apartment buildings, and very few apartments are actively exchanged each year.

The Community Planner presented an overview of Saanich’s work on the subject of affordable housing and highlighting important points. The “Affordable housing is defined by the CMHC (CANADA MORTGAGE AND HOUSING CORPORATION) as housing that costs less than 30% of gross household income.” Affordable housing supply for low to moderate-income households and is impacted by numerous factors such as Market forces, High land costs, rising construction costs, years of lack of federal and provincial investment in housing, stagnant growth of incomes at lower levels. Victoria has become the least affordable smaller housing market in Canada, and currently in Saanich, the median house price is $598,300, with the median Saanich income as $66,200. According to data presented by community Planner, “twenty-eight percent of households pay more than 30% of their household income on housing.”

Housing Affordability Housing affordability has been one of the most persistent national concerns mainly because housing costs are the biggest expenses in the budgets of most households. A typical American household spends more than a third of its budget on housing while poor and near-poor households commonly devote about half of their incomes to housing (Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2011) .

The recent policy regarding the Right to Buy propose to increase the discount under the Right to Buy scheme. This allows social tenants purchase their home at discounts of up to 50% of the value of their home, making home ownership more accessible (Brill, 2012). In addition, the Right to Buy sales make a major contribution to increase home ownership. There is an increase in the list number of people wanting accommodation. Therefore, it is worth to consider whether this has been one of the key drivers in recent changes in the UK housing system. The aim is making the housing system more affordable, for people on low income to be able to afford to buy their social housing and become home owners (Pattison, 2010). The increase demand of council housing of people with low income has brought about the recent changes in policy. It will also be the key driver of policy change in the

Housing affordability has once again appeared on the policy agenda of Australian governments. House prices have risen in response to booming demand and constraints on the supply of dwellings, especially a shortage of land in the capital cities and skill shortages within the housing industry. Many young and low-income households have experienced great difficulty in gaining access to homeownership and in being able to afford private rental housing. This paper briefly considers the characteristics of public debate around housing affordability in Australia. It examines the role of neo-liberalism in shaping policy responses to housing affordability problems and assesses the argument that affordability goals can be achieved through manipulation of

Imagine living in a city with worse affordable housing rates than Brooklyn, New York (Calvin). Sadly, this is the reality for many Iowans, with the capital city of Des Moines having only 30 units of affordable housing available for every 100 units needed (Poething). In Iowa alone, 74,000+ households have 50% or more of their monthly income going straight towards their housing bill. (Hensley) This means families must face difficult tradeoffs—will they keep their house, or will their children go hungry? Will their family have coats for the winter, or will they keep paying their rent? Housing affordability in Iowa is becoming increasingly more difficult for those living on a low income, but luckily, there many things that can be done to

Housing demand includes household growth, real incomes, real wealth, tax concessions to both owner-occupied and rental housing, concessions to first homebuyers, returns on alternative investments, cost and availability of finance for housing and the institutional structure affecting housing finance provision (Yates, 2008). The growth in the number of households and in real income results in the increased pressure on housing demand.

Definitely, there is quite strong need for affordable housing and for alternative housing forms. Recent study (an online survey, several interviews and social media research) has proven tiny houses appeal strongly to a broad demographic, especially to single-person or couple household.

Many people find themselves unable to sustain themselves with a constantly increasing rent to an already expensive cost in New York City. Micro housing can solve that problem. Micro houses are miniature apartments, generally 260 to 360 square feet, so they require less electricity, heating, and cooling. Furthermore, as micro

How Can One Help the Homeless? The most common thing that comes to mind when someone mentions living in the United States is the “American Dream”. This dream including a family living in a house with a white picket fence around it. The grass is nice and green and everything seems