What is WORKFORCE HOUSING?
Workforce housing is defined as housing that is affordable for families whose incomes are within 60 to 120 percent of the County’s area median income (AMI) as reported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and adjusted to family size.
Households in workforce housing typically earn too much to qualify for programs under HUD. At the same time, they are also unable to afford most quality market-rate apartments.
Many such households (the missing middle) include those employed in essential sectors that have stagnant wages. -Teachers, police officers, hospital support staff, and delivery workers. Employees in these sectors may have a difficult time finding adequate housing due to soaring rent growth in many markets.
WORKFORCE HOUSING INITIATIVE
Everyone deserves to have housing they are proud to call home.
In many cities across the country, it is increasingly difficult for middle-income workers to buy or rent housing in the areas in which they work. The difficulty is partly due to wages not keeping up with increasing living costs and the limited housing supply afforded to these workers.
In response to limited affordable housing options in the areas where they work, many middle-income workers relocate to the outer fringes of a region, leading to longer commute times for the worker, higher levels of traffic, and other negative externalities for the surrounding area.
Today’s high demand for housing paired with low supply has driven home prices up and out of reach for many middle-income workers, and many local governments are exploring and implementing strategies to stimulate workforce housing creation. South Florida struggles with skyrocketing rents and in May 2022, the region led the nation with a 45.8% annual rent hike, according to Realtor.com. In a June 2022 visit to Miami, U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge called the city “the epicenter of the housing crisis” in the United States.
Workforce housing is desperately needed throughout the state of Florida; therefore, Beacon Hill Property Group will build 1,500 workforce (“attainable”) housing units during the next 5 years.
