Simply put, workforce housing crisis indicates a home that is available for those who belong to the median income groups and is near to the job location. You can call it home ownerships and rental houses that the families belonging to the moderate- and middle-income group can afford and have an essential role in the job centers.
Also, if you glance at the urban institutes, you will realize that the workforce housing is affordable for families earning between 60% and 120% of the median income. You might come across other differences in the definition from other sources.
However, Maxwell Drever says that close to 80% of the median income families face a challenge in acquiring affordable houses near their workplace. And the teachers, police officers and firefighters are all a part of this community. That aside, the young professionals are an integral part of the entire workforce population.
As a result, getting access to an affordable workforce housing unit is becoming a challenge in developing and developed nations.
The current affordable workforce housing trends
We already know that foreclosure is a common phenomenon and that its intensity maximizes with each passing year. Today, many factors have added to the rise in foreclosure. The current housing overview and the economic trend suggests the global housing market has been adversely impacted. And the recent housing crisis is a result on the fraudulent underwritings, absence of economic initiatives, incorrect decisions of buyers and investors.
And as a result of all this the workforce population is finding it challenging to obtain a shelter near their work place. Even though the home costs have declined a bit, the maintenance and purchasing expense is on the rise, making it difficult for people to purchase a property. Additionally, they are also facing issues with the rising transportation expense, making it challenging for them to cater to both requirements. As a result, these people have gone away from the urban locations and bought less costly houses in the suburban areas. And the increasing transportation costs results in a financial burden.
Smart affordable workforce housing crisis solutions to opt-in for
Today, several solutions can be applied to the workforce housing crisis. The higher authorities will have to take these steps to bring down the intensity of this problem else it might aggravate. Initially, it needs to start with the governmental financing programs, like the local financial schemes, mortgages, tax credit, revenue bonds and the housing finance.
That is not all! The governmental agencies need to initiate regulatory changes that gets designed to maximize the availability of low-cost houses. Also, government agencies need to modernize various methods and arrive at fee waivers from zoning changes, building code changes, and inclusionary zoning.
Last but not least, Maxwell Drever says that the investors, developers and planners need to pay attention to this sector and also invest in it. An intelligent growth needs to be a combined effort of non-governmental and governmental organizations. You need to know that it has long-term implications when taking active steps. So, there is a chance to reduce risk and increase the benefit.