Checked rents lately? In the market for a home? What you find in Anchorage neighborhoods delivers some serious sticker shock.
A 2012 United Way report on Anchorage housing cites “a substantial gap between the average housing price and what many people earn.”
According to the report, while the cost of a single family home jumped 55 percent in the last decade, median family incomes lagged at 39 percent. Rents on two-bedroom apartments rose 58 percent.
Cashiers, retail salespersons and fast-food workers were Anchorage’s three largest occupation groups in 2010, averaging an annual salary of $25,000 a year. But the average price of a house in 2011 was $323,768; for a condo – $201,548; and rent on a two-bedroom apartment was $1,241.
The numbers just don’t work.
A new report released in March by the Municipality – relying on analysis from the McDowell Group and ECONorthwest – forecasts a serious shortage of affordable housing in Anchorage over the next 20 years.
Join our housing discussion to hear different perspectives on the problem, and ways of thinking about some solutions.
Links:
- Anchorage Housing Market Analysis (PDF), Municipality of Anchorage
- Compact Housing Case Studies (PDF), Municipality of Anchorage
- ‘What Americans are looking for in deciding where to live,” National Association of Realtors report
- Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, ‘working to provide safe, quality affordable housing’
- Cook Inlet Housing Authority, ‘affordable solutions to home ownership’
- Title 21 Rewrite Project, latest updates page
View these links on Newsbank with your Loussac library card:
- While housing prices plummet in Lower 48, Anchorage sails along at a relatively flat pace, Anchorage Daily News, June 3, 2011
- We shouldn’t ignore our quiet housing crisis, Anchorage Daily News, May 17, 2011
- Loussac Place will mix low income with workforce housing, Anchorage Daily News, May 2, 2011
GUESTS:
- Karen Iverson, senior planner, Municipality
- Andre Spinelli, builder, Spinell Homes
- Tyler Robinson, development finance manager, Cook Inlet Housing Authority
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
HOST: Kathleen McCoy
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, May 23, 2012. 2:00 – 3:00 pm (Alaska time)
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, May 23, 2012. 7:00 – 8:00 pm (Alaska time)
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