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Affordable Housing in Virginia Remains Difficult to Find

The economy is booming, and Virginia is doing well in a number of areas. But, some are being left behind.

Affordable housing is more scarce now than during the housing bubble. That’s the conclusion of Hamilton Lombard at the University of Virginia, who says the booming economy obscures how challenging the landscape is for many Virginians.

“A lot of the economic indicators look good, so it’s surprising that the share spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing is actually higher than during the housing bubble -- that the share of young adults living with parents or close relatives is actually still rising even though the recession ended how many years ago?”

The recession ended almost a decade ago, but the hangover lingers today. The median home sales price is just now passing pre-recession levels. And older homes are not depreciating in value as quickly as in past decades. Salem Furth at George Mason University says that could be a contributing factor of the economic landscape.

“If you want to control housing prices, you’ve got to be consistently building new housing because the new luxury housing of today is the affordable housing of a generation from now.”

The bottom line is that many Virginians are struggling, despite the gangbusters economy. Census figures show median rent in Virginia has risen three times as quickly as household incomes. That creates an affordable housing crisis for many people who earn less than $75,000 a year.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.
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