Affordability of housing in Lawrence debated

As executive director of Lawrence Tenants to Homeowners, Rebecca Buford has overseen construction of 11 homes that are sold at below-market prices and launched the Lawrence Land Trust program. Her primary goal is to provide more affordable housing in Lawrence.

It sure seems like a deal: A brand new, three-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car garage and a daylight basement for $124,000.

Workshop

Tenants to Homeowners will conduct a new homebuyers workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the United Way Center, 2518 Ridge Court. The workshop will explain guidelines people must meet to qualify to be part of the Tenants to Homeowners program, which provides new housing at below-market prices. There’s no fee for the workshop, and pre-registration is not required.

Yes, it is in Lawrence, where such a home usually appraises for at least $180,000.

Yet, in a city where politicians frequently declare the need for more affordable housing, the home at 302 Ala. has been on the market for more than three months now.

It has been a bit baffling to Rebecca Buford, executive director of Tenants To Homeowners. The Lawrence-based organization, which works to build affordable housing for low- to moderate-income people, constructed the home.

“Usually we have waiting lists for our homes,” Buford said. “Usually they aren’t really on the market at all.”

But this home and another home on Atherton Court have both been on the market for multiple months, something that has not happened to Tenants to Homeowners in the nearly 12 years it has been in existence.

Affordability at issue

It all begs the question of whether Lawrence’s lack of affordable housing isn’t nearly as severe as once thought. Buford said she’s concerned that may be the conclusion some people incorrectly will draw.

“I know the needs are still out there,” Buford said. “I don’t want anyone saying we don’t need to be building affordable housing. That would be very erroneous.”

Others in the real estate community, though, said they thought the slowdown could be a sign that the affordable housing issue isn’t as great as previously believed. Pat Flavin, president and managing broker of Lawrence Realty, said he’s convinced that buying a home in Lawrence isn’t as hard as it used to be.

He said lenders have loosened income requirements. A slowdown in the housing market also has allowed a number of people who previously had no option but to turn to organizations like Tenants to Homeowners to buy houses on the open market.

“I think, by and large, there has been affordable housing available for most people,” Flavin said. “I don’t think we ought to just forfeit the idea of pursuing (affordable housing programs). I think it is something you have to go forward with reasonably, but I don’t see this huge disparity that others might see. I don’t see that we have a giant void in affordability.”

Workplace housing

How big the affordable housing issue is in Lawrence is an open question, City Commissioner Boog Highberger said.

“It has been tough for us to put together an overall strategy at the city level because there are different perceptions on how severe the problem is,” Highberger said.

For example, Highberger – who chairs the city’s Housing Needs Task Force – earlier this year sought to build support for a slight increase in the mortgage registration tax. He said the new revenues – $200,000 to $500,000 per year – could be used to fund affordable housing programs. But the idea never received much debate at City Hall.

“I’m really kind of frustrated with that,” Highberger said.

Progress on a recommendation to add incentives to the city’s zoning code to encourage affordable housing also has been slow.

But Highberger said he’s still convinced the city has a housing affordability issue – he believes many people who work in Lawrence live elsewhere because of concerns about this community’s housing prices.

Misconceptions

A working family is exactly the type of buyer Tenants to Homeowners built the 302 Ala. home for, Buford said. But she said she thinks many people in Lawrence’s working class do not realize they can qualify for a Tenants to Homeowners house.

“I think a lot of people think our programs are really for only the very low-income,” Buford said. “That’s not the case at all. I want people to realize that Tenants to Homeowners serves the working class.”

The program isn’t open to everyone, though. A family must have a household income that is less than 80 percent of the median household income in Lawrence, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For a family of two, that means an income of $41,400 or less. For a family of four, though, it rises to $51,750. Buford said she’s not sure enough people know that the income guidelines are that high.

In addition to the income guidelines, participants in the Tenants to Homeowners program also must agree to some restrictions on how they sell their home. A home purchased through the Tenants to Homeowners program can’t be sold for more than 25 percent of its increase in appraised value.

For example, if a $100,000 home grew in value to $150,000, the home could not be sold for more than $112,500. The home also must be sold to someone who meets the low- to moderate-income guideline.

Buford said she didn’t think those restrictions on future sales had scared people away from buying homes from Tenants to Homeowners.

Looking ahead

The slowdown comes at a pivotal time for Tenants to Homeowners. The nonprofit organization already has begun work on the largest project in its history – construction of 10 homes in East Lawrence near Bullene Avenue and La Salle Street.

Buford said the organization was moving ahead with the project because the homes will be smaller and less expensive than the $124,000 unsold house on Alabama Street, which is the largest home Tenants has ever built. The East Lawrence homes are expected to be priced at $90,000 to $110,000.