More Affordable Housing For Growing Families

The following was published in Tuesday's edition of the DN-R.

Columnist Jim Parrott of the Urban Institute estimates that some 6 million homeowners 65 and older live in homes that are over twice as large as the national average. He states, “As older Americans pay for excess space, younger families are stuck in homes too small to meet their needs.”

One of his proposals is to eliminate capital gains taxes for all but the most expensive homes, thus providing incentive for more people to sell their homes, downsize, and move to smaller spaces. 

Of course many of these homes may still not be affordable for young families, but should we be concerned about all the excess space in expansive homes in our neighborhoods with only one or two occupants?

Here are four simple principles to consider:

1. No one should be homeless.

2. Large homes should be occupied by large households.

3. Smaller homes should be occupied by smaller households.

4. Empty nesters should consider downsizing or taking in extra occupants.

So might the housing problem in our community be less about a shortage of space than a lack of equitable access to it? 

Fortunately, there are many modest homes, apartments, townhouses and duplexes in our community that provide adequate housing to individuals and small families, along with mobile homes and other older dwellings in various states of repair. Yet at the same time, the Harrisonburg Housing Authority has hundreds of people on their waiting list for subsidized housing, and those on low incomes are finding it ever more difficult to find a house or apartment they can afford.

According to a recent locally funded United Way ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report, a family of two adults and two children in our area needs a combined income of over $66,000 in order to afford housing and other living costs. But based on information available from Trulia.com there are almost no 3-bedroom homes available for rent for under $1000 a month, and very few homes that can be purchased for under $200,000.

Here are some things we empty nesters and others with more space (and more stuff than we need), might do to help:

1. Put our home on the market and purchase or rent a smaller place, including the option of moving into an independent living facility at a retirement community. This would immediately make more homes and more bedrooms available to growing families. It would also encourage us to downsize, get rid of some of our surplus things and make things easier for our children and others when we pass on.

2. Take in international or other students and/or offer hospitality to other individuals who need a bedroom on a short term or long term basis.

3. Make our home available to an organization like Oxford House or some other group home for persons in recovery or with special needs, or turn it into a homeless shelter(!). I know there are zoning issues that could get in the way, but our community should be able to work together to make reasonable accommodations for more just and equitable housing.

4. Join with others in the community in a campaign to help make existing housing more energy efficient, thus reducing housing costs and helping save the planet.

Harrisonburg is known as the "Friendly City." I hope that means being hospitable to those who are struggling to make ends meet as well as a willingness to help make more good homes available for growing families.