Housing
Friday, December 2, 2022

PA Whole-Home Repairs Program Begins to Roll Out 

The Commonwealth’s new Whole-Home Repairs Program, funded by COVID relief dollars, is beginning to roll out.  According to the Inquirer, counties and county-designated organizations can begin applying for funding on December 12.  The program is being administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).  Click here to be taken to the official DCED program website. 

 

Lancaster and Harrisburg Among 10 Metros Where Homebuyers May Be Priced Out 

The Inquirer recently did a report on data from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) to determine which metropolitan areas have the largest number of households that would be impacted by a $1,000 increase in price for a new single-family home. The number of priced-out households incorporates whether a household qualifies for a mortgage, which is determined by whether the monthly payment equals 28% or less of monthly gross household income. The NAHB also calculates households being able to afford a 10% down payment. Two metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania made their top 10 list: Harrisburg and Lancaster, both in the south-central portion of the state. Both metro areas are composed of a large majority of single-family homes, which tend to be more expensive than multi-family units. 

 About 69% of all households in the U.S. cannot afford a median-priced new home, according to the NAHB. Reasons that households might be priced out of the market include competition from other home buyers, construction costs, increased mortgage rates, and local regulations, all of which contribute to the overall price of a home. These factors also tend to make the construction of smaller starter homes untenable, leading to fewer being built. 

 

Lack of Affordable Housing in Lehigh Valley a “Human Rights Issue” 

A recent summit hosted by the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley centered on how the lack of affordable housing in the region has hit crisis levels and the implications for health. Anna Smith, interim director of Community Action Development Bethlehem, stated that the quality, availability, and stability of housing can affect every aspect of health, whether physical health from hazards such as lead paint or radon gas as well as mental health due to anxiety and stress from facing evictions, constant moving causing feelings of isolation, or disruption of education for children. In Northampton County, about 1 in 4 households are cost-burdened, meaning they pay over 30% of their income on housing costs; in Lehigh County, that figure is 34%. Rents have increased 35% over the past three years, disproportionately affecting Black and Latino residents. Lack of affordable housing has also caused a large increase in homelessness, with a 50% increase in homelessness among families with children and a 93% increase with veterans.  You can read the Morning Call’s article on the summit by clicking here. 

 

South Bethlehem Building Rehabilitation 

The South Side neighborhood of Bethlehem, the “cultural and economic heart of the city,” recently received groundbreaking for another part of its continued economic renaissance efforts. Renovation work has begun on the long-vacant Goodman Building, a deteriorating former furniture store on Third Street. Once completed, the building will have first-floor retail space and 12 units of residential space. Funding comes in part from the state and the city, as well as the Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation. It is located in a neighborhood close to Lehigh University, the SteelStacks arts and community venue, and the Wind Creek Casino. The redevelopment of the Goodman Building comes alongside several similar projects in the neighborhood, including an eight-story mixed-use tower, a separate five-story building on Third Street, an eight-story development on the side of the former Boys and Girls Club, a seven-story building on Fourth Street, and a mixed-use apartment complex in the former Holy Infancy School, also along Fourth Street. 

 

Study of Property Maintenance Codes in PA’s Rural Communities 

While the IA team is usually monitoring housing trends in urban areas, it is also important to look at Pennsylvania’s rural areas as well.  A recent study from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania finds that a widespread lack of property maintenance codes in rural communities has worsened housing quality and stalled investments, contributing to the rural poverty cycle. Of the state’s 1,592 municipalities, 89% of them have not adopted a property maintenance code, even though 1,201 follow the Uniform Construction Code construction standards. Of the rural municipalities with property maintenance codes, 112 have adopted the International Property Maintenance Code, 10 have adopted guidelines from the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, and 53 have enacted independent local ordinances. A higher amount of poorly-maintained housing makes it harder to attract new businesses, and it can be a barrier to community investment,
says Claire Jantz, a geography professor at Shippensburg University and one of the study’s authors. Meanwhile, enforced property maintenance codes provide a standard that can improve local living conditions and provide investment opportunities by ensuring that properties are safe and have maintained “a certain level of appearance.”  In addition, many of the poorly-maintained houses are not owner-occupied, meaning they are either being rented out or are sitting vacant.