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Soaring home prices in the Hudson Valley — a popular spot for city buyers seeking a slice of country life — have made affordable housing hard to come by for locals in the region, according to a new report.
All nine counties analyzed by the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress’ Center for Housing Solutions are struggling with affordable housing. In each county, a renter would have to work beyond a full-time job to afford a two-bedroom apartment, the Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals reported.
The analysis looked at the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “Out of Reach,” an annual report for renters. A stark example came out of Rockland County, where the average hourly wage for renters was $12.14.
A worker at that wage could afford rent of just $631 per month. The fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the county is $2,053.
“The bottom line is that rents are simply unaffordable for the people we count on every day,’ said Joe Czajka, the executive director of the Center for Housing Solutions and Community Initiatives.
New York City weekend visitors and home buyers, who have been especially active in exurbs during the pandemic, contribute to rising prices in the area. In Dutchess County, the median sale price in the second quarter was $380,000, almost 25 percent higher than in the same period last year. In Putnam County, the median sales price was $420,000, up 21 percent.
[Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals] — Holden Walter-Warner
