Transylvania County Workforce Housing
COMMUNITY UPDATE - NOV. 2008
Background – Where have we been?
Workforce Housing Summit:
In April of 2007 an
Affordable Housing Summit was held, with over 100 participants from all
areas of Transylvania County in attendance.
From that day long meeting five committees were formed to follow up
on the varied aspects of the workforce housing shortage in Transylvania
County.
Committee
Objectives:
Land
Committee:
To determine how and where
land for workforce housing can be acquired, and the most effective way of
holding that land, so that housing can remain affordable.
Finance
Committee:
To identify government
and/or private programs accessible by the workforce identified in our target
income categories, and mortgage lenders willing to work with this group of
buyers.
Construction Committee:
To determine the size of
house, type of construction, cost cutting materials available and to locate
companies or individuals having the interest and capability to construct
workforce housing.
Government Committee:
To engage the needed
governmental bodies (both city and county) into creating a regulatory
structure that will be conducive to the construction of workforce housing.
Communications and Education Committee: To communicate information resulting from the WHC effort both externally to the community and internally to other committees. This committee is also responsible for developing educational forums to help potential home buyers better understand the financial requirements of home ownership and the necessary details about financing.
Hiring
of Workforce Housing Director by
United Way
In December of 2007, a
program Director was hired by United Way to lead the community effort in
developing workforce housing. The
primary role of this position was to coordinate WHC committee initiatives
and to be a face out to the community in all WHC activities.
Progress to Date – Where are we now?
Primary
Activities and Accomplishments of WHC Committees
Communications
and Education
A housing survey was
created with the assistance of the Transylvania Partnership, distributed to
the community, and analyzed (a summary of results is available by request).
Ongoing communication of
activities and results has been done to the community through the
Transylvania Times and WSQL radio.
The committee is currently
working with OnTrack in Asheville to develop employer-based educational
programs, which will address all aspects of the home ownership/buying
process. Substantial interest has
been expressed by Transylvania County, Transylvania Regional Hospital and
the Transylvania County Board of Education in such a program.
Land
Committee
The WHC Land Committee
identified the price of land in our county as one of the major problems in
the creation of affordable housing.
As a result, they have focused primarily on the creation of a community land
trust in partnership with the Transylvania County Board of Education.
This vehicle will allow an entity to buy and hold land for the future
development of affordable housing.
Several of the WHC
committee members are on the task force which was chartered by the
Transylvania County Board of Education to create such a trust for use with
property that is currently owned by the Board of Education.
After discussions with the WHC Land Committee, the Board of Education
agreed to the creation of a
community land
trust, which will serve as a land ownership vehicle for various elements of
our community. They expect to have
this land trust completed and in place by December of 2008.
Government Committee
The government committee
is in the process of creating a menu of options that will be presented to
both Rosman and Brevard city councils as well as the county commissioners,
which will help to identify ways to streamline and reduce the costs of
workforce housing development. They hope to have this “regulatory overlay”
completed and accepted by all local government bodies by Spring of 2009.
Transylvania County has submitted a third $400,000 CDBG Scattered
Site grant application and encouraged and worked closely with WCCA to submit
a $400,000 grant to the NC Housing Finance Agency.
Construction Committee
The construction committee
has identified several potential sites for workforce housing, including
infill lots. They are designing
small developments of cottage style homes (stick built and modular), which
would fit on the infill plots.
Before this committee can
move forward to any degree, the regulatory overlay referenced above will
need to be in place.
Finance
Committee
The Finance Committee
initially met to define the income categories to be targeted by the WHC.
The range of 80% - 120% of
household median
income ($40,000 - $60,000) was initially determined to be the income levels
targeted by this effort. In order to
insure that the WHC focus includes individuals and single-parent families,
and as the median income of Transylvania County continues to rise, that
range has been changed to 60% - 120% of
household median
income ($31,000 – $62,000). The
definition of “affordable workforce housing” is determined by the mortgage
amount a lender will approve taking into account current interest rates, the
borrower’s total household income, and their total household debt.
Currently, this translates to a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of
approximately $100,000 - $200,000.
Once regulatory changes
are identified and recommended, the Finance committee can better determine
how best to reach and meet the financing needs of potential buyers.
Summary of Workforce Housing Issues Today
All large employers have
cited a shortage of workforce housing as a problem in attracting and keeping
employees
Major employers continue
to lose employees, both potential and existing, because employees are unable
to afford the type of home they want in Transylvania County
The availability of
affordable land is one of the major stumbling blocks to building more
affordable workforce housing
The housing market has changed dramatically, given the mortgage/economic
crisis of the last 12 months
There are more homes
available in the $100,000 - $200,000 category than there have been for some
time. As of October, 2008, there
were 12 homes (this number does not include mobile homes) available for
purchase between $100,000 and $125,000; 23 homes available for purchase from
$125,000 - $150,000; 57 homes from $150,000 - $200,000.
54 of these homes had 1-2 bedrooms; 38 had 3 bedrooms or more. 45 of
these homes have been on the market for less than 4 months; 21 have been on
the market for 4-7 months; 26 have been on the market for 7 months or
longer.
Lenders in Transylvania County have
few, if any, qualified buyers within the workforce housing income range.
We have heard from many realtors and lenders that there are
significant problems with credit scores and the over-extension of credit of
many potential buyers.
Realtors and builders in
Transylvania County report a disconnect between potential buyer expectations
and the economic reality of what a house in the target price range can
include in terms of space and amenities.
Future Activities of Workforce Housing Coalition
The WHC is a consortium of
committed individuals, government organizations, non-profit agencies and
employers who are working together to solve the workforce housing issues of
Transylvania County. The primary
tasks of this organization in the next 12 months will be to:
Focus on the
development of housing under $150,000 on infill lots
Explore housing rehab opportunities in the county
Work with major employers in Transylvania County to prepare employees for
home purchase. The WHC Education
and Communication committee is working with OnTrack in Asheville to develop
employee seminars, to be sponsored by the largest local employers which
include the following educational components:
What should a buyer expect
to get in a home in various price ranges
How much of a mortgage can
a buyer really afford at different income levels
What kind of a credit
score is necessary to qualify for a mortgage
If an employee has bad
credit, how do they clean it up
What kind of financing
help is available or could be made available to employees, and how do they
access it
Begin a public awareness
campaign about
what the problems are
in the workforce
housing arena today
what individuals can do
now to ready
themselves for home ownership
what part credit plays in
purchasing a new home
what types of homes are
available now in the market and what types of homes buyers should consider
at various income levels
what types of financing
and buyer assistance are currently available in the market at various income
levels
Establishment of a
community land trust. This will be
important as a mechanism to hold donated land, or land purchased by a
housing entity at some point in the future.
A land trust allows an
entity to own land, on which homes can be built and owned by others.
Current and future prices of homes built through a land trust are
typically controlled by the entity owning the land in such a way to maintain
the affordability of the home, while still allowing the homeowner to develop
home equity.
Acceptance of a list of changes by the city and county governments in order to stimulate the building of future workforce housing
Establishment of
informational and educational programs for contractors/builders promoting
the development of affordable workforce housing
Creation of a position
that will serve as a housing resource specialist for individuals falling
into the targeted workforce housing income ranges.
This person will become a central source of information about all
aspects of workforce housing, enabling a person seeking workforce housing to
have one source for needed information.
This specialist will have knowledge and/or specific resources for
information on workforce housing currently or soon to be available, types of
mortgage financing available, government programs available to help in the
purchase of a home, and financial educational/credit assistance programs
available to those wanting to purchase a home.
This position has currently been filled and goals and objectives are
now being finalized.
Research rental housing in
Transylvania County. Collect
information on what is available and whether or not it is enough.
If not, determine what should be done to encourage the creation of
more affordable rental housing
Determine whether or not a
separate organization needs to be created for Transylvania County in order
to develop/manage future workforce housing, and if so, facilitate its
development.
SUMMARY
The problem of access to
affordable, desirable workforce housing is multi-faceted and must be
addressed from many different directions and by all of the following
constituencies:
Large employers
City and county
governments
Financial institutions
Housing developers
Individual employees
The WHC will continue to
work on all aspects of the problem with the different segments of our
community who
must
come together to address this issue critical to the healthy growth of
Transylvania County.
For more information, or if you are interested in participating on one of the committees, please call the United Way office at (828) 883-8822.