UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — The collaborative first spade of earth to address the housing availability and affordability crisis in Lehigh Valley has been turned.
The region has a 9,000-unit housing shortage and will need 54,000 more units by 2050 to accommodate population growth, officials were told Wednesday.
And the Lehigh Valley Housing Supply and Availability Strategy, which will try to address that crisis, had its first session at a breakfast at DeSales University.
The event was co-sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and the Urban Land Institute of Philadelphia. The study was funded by Lehigh County.
“This is an important topic that we can’t kick down the road any longer.”Phillips Armstrong, Lehigh County Executive
The three-hour forum consisted of experts in housing, real estate, banks and lenders, as well as LVPC representatives offering possible solutions to the housing crisis across all income levels.
“This day has been a long time coming,” Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong told the gathering. “This is an important topic that we can’t kick down the road any longer.”
Titled “Working Group,” the event was the first of a three-part initiative.
The second event will be a Technical Assistance Panel, or TAP, on March 27-28. The concluding workshop is scheduled for 8-11 a.m. June 23 at DeSales.
'It has to be attainable'
Individual presentations on Wednesday were followed by a panel discussion focused on the housing crisis using statistical data, causes and a topical conversation about remedies.
LVPC Executive Director Becky A. Bradley underscored the importance of creating attainable housing.
“We don’t want to just address housing creation for housing creation sake,” Bradley said. “It has to be attainable.
“With this initiative, we want to understand the challenges we face, what we really need and how to support it in the long term.”
Using a slide presentation, LVPC Chief Community Planner Jill Seitz explained in detail the seriousness and negative impact of housing in the Lehigh Valley.
“The region has a 9,000-unit housing shortage,” Seitz said. “The past decade has seen a mismatch between housing attainability and housing affordability.
“For the lowest household incomes here — around $25,000 a year — there’s a deficit of more than 10,000 units.”
Contributing to the overall shortage in the Lehigh Valley are high interest rates, material and labor shortages, infrastructure issues, land development hurdles and land use regulations, among others, speakers said.
“We will need 54,000 more units by 2050 to accommodate our projected population growth,” Seitz said.
The crisis has created a 19.1% rise in multi-generational households since 2010, she said.
'State of sclerosis'
Median housing prices in the Lehigh Valley have increased to four times the annual household income.
“If this continues, housing costs will be seven times the annual median household incomes,” Seitz said.
“Without action, the children and grandchildren of our residents will be priced out of affordable housing.”
Jason Duckworth, president of Arcadia Land Co., of Philadelphia, described the housing market in Lehigh Valley as being in a “state of sclerosis.”
“Rents out there are bigger than some mortgages.”Lehigh Valley Realtors Chief Executive Officer Justin R. Porembo
“Seldom does zoning easily permit the development of new housing,” Duckworth said. “We need to create bonuses to create smaller, more attainable homes, because there just isn’t enough volume.”
The dearth of housing has caused landowners to increase their selling price, contributing to the challenge of affordable housing.
“The people who own the land are also reading the same statistics we are,” he said. “So the cost of land is higher.”
In cases where buyers find a home they would like to buy, interest rates often can be an impediment.
“Interest rates are a hurdle,” Penn Community Bank Chief Operating Officer Stephen Murphy said.
“The rates are not helping people today who want to buy a home. They’re paying high rent, so they can’t save for a downpayment, especially if they have a car payment and a student loan. It’s a challenge.”
Added Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors Chief Executive Officer Justin R. Porembo: “Rents out there are bigger than some mortgages.”
A nationwide problem
The housing affordability and availability crisis is not exclusive to the Lehigh Valley.
Deborah Myerson, a senior research and policy fellow for ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing, said the cost of homeownership nationwide is its highest in more than 30 years.
"Streamline the process."Thomas Comitta, president of Thomas Comitta Associates Inc.
Myerson shared some solutions and strategies being used by regions across the country.
They include reforming municipal zoning ordinances to unleash housing production, connecting resources to maximize the impact of housing investment, adaptive reuse of outdated housing and creating state and local funding incentives for residential development.
Thomas Comitta, president of Thomas Comitta Associates Inc., a town planning and landscape architectural firm in West Chester, Chester County, suggested what he called a “shotgun approach” to expedite the building permitting process.
“Get municipalities to approve [applications] in 44 days,” Comitta said. “Streamline the process.”
