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03/16/2022 08:30 AMThe South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) held a public forum last week to present their findings on the current status of the town’s affordable housing market and its future. The data, collected prior to the pandemic, clearly indicates that rising rents and housing prices are an issue for anyone seeking to move to Guilford.
Unfortunately, the unprecedented shifts caused in the market during the pandemic may make much of this data obsolete.
Town Planner Jaime Stein said that although the information still has relevance, the “affordability” of rents in Guilford has obviously changed.
“Data is always a limiting factor and I believe 2019/2020 data is still relevant, especially when you think about the state’s mandate of 10 percent affordable units and Guilford has 2.38 percent,” said Stein, adding, “This data leads me to believe that the situation has gotten worse in Guilford with the continuing pandemic.”
Stein said the information that was of most concern related to Guilford workers.
“The biggest takeaways from the report are [that] workers employed by the three highest-employed occupations in Guilford cannot afford to live in Guilford,” Stein said. “Our affordable housing strategies need to help our workforce. And we have very limited rental housing.
Guilford’s top three employment sectors are healthcare and social assistance, government, and retail trade, according to the report,
“Guilford residents joined the meeting to give very thoughtful and productive contributions. They have clearly been engaged in the issue of affordable housing in town,” Stein said. “They have laid the foundation for and continue to support the development of an affordable housing plan. They resoundingly support opportunities to increase affordable and workforce housing. These opportunities exist within our existing building stock and through new multi-family development along the Route 1 corridor.”
Some of the other major takeaways from the presentation:
• Gross rent, which is rent plus utilities, increased by 14.4 percent between 2011 to 2019 to a high of $1,474 per month. Guilford is among the communities with the highest median gross rent within the SCRCOG region. This is supported by the changes in gross rent distribution, particularly the increase in share of rents above $1,500 which increased to about 49 percent over the past decade. Among this higher share, rents above $2,000 increase to a quarter of all rents. Linked to these increases in share, the share of rents below $1,500 decreased to 51 percent.
• In Guilford, about 35 percent of the renter households and 16 percent of the owner households earn less than 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), totaling 1,550 households. These households often experience housing instability, may rely on housing assistance, and are typically spending more on housing as a percentage of their overall income.
• For extremely low-income renter households, the supply of affordable and available units is tight. The lack of higher priced rental units in Guilford puts downward pressure on the supply of housing priced for lower-income households. Higher-income households have more choices in the housing market and are likely renting units at a lower price point than they could otherwise afford.
• On the rental side, most respondents indicated that there is not enough supply of rental housing across all types particularly senior/age restricted, and affordable/workforce types. Similarly, respondents indicated that there was a strong demand for all rental housing types. In terms of public sentiment of rental impacts in Guilford, the majority of residents indicated that rental housing would have a positive impact on commercial businesses, public services and rental prices within the community. Respondents also indicated that new rental housing would have no noticeable impact on public finances but were concerned that it may increase traffic levels.
• More than 40 percent of Guilford survey respondents feel that having new workers, families, and children would have a positive impact on the community and feel that new housing construction should be built near transit stops or along commercial corridors. The majority of residents also feel that the primary barriers to creating new price appropriate housing would most likely be challenged by zoning and infrastructure limitations. In total, 77 percent of Guilford survey respondents believe that the town has a responsibility to crease housing options for individuals and families that would like to live in your community but cannot afford the current cost of housing.
• As of 2020, the percentage of assisted housing in Guilford is 2.4 percent based on Connecticut Department of Health calculations. This indicates that Guilford is below the 10 percent affordable state requirement.
• Renters in Guilford face an expensive housing market and continue to shoulder high housing cost burdens. Across all income brackets, Guilford has households facing housing cost burdens. Furthermore, Guilford has a very limited rental stock and median rents higher than most communities in the SCRCOG region. As rents continue to rise across the region, existing residents may face challenges meeting the rising costs of renting in town.
• Based on the findings discussed in Guilford’s Plan of Conservation and Develoopment, the plan identified the need for a more diverse portfolio of housing options particularly for younger people and families in the form of starter homes as well as options that provide support and access for elderly residents and retirees living on fixed incomes. Based on estimates of the changes in housing units over the past decade, the increases in larger multifamily buildings (20 or more units) could be linked to the town’s goals to support seniors and younger working age residents.
First Selectman Matt Hoey said he and the Board have been working steadily on affordable housing issues and that he is encouraged by some of the data presented and concerned about other aspects of it.
“I also believe there is community support for this effort. The survey results are indicative of that support. 77 percent of Guilford survey respondents believe the town has a responsibility to increase housing options for individuals and families that would like to live in our community but cannot afford the current cost of housing. Respondents also feel there is not enough rental housing for senior/age restricted and affordable/workforce types. The same goes for home ownership opportunities,” Hoey said, adding, “We are making progress toward the goals that have been established by the state. I think the data is still relevant, but I do think that the current situation is just to exacerbate the affordability gap because of the significant demand and the decrease in availability.”
A PDF of the presentation is available via the town website www.ci.guilford.ct.us—search “scrcog affordable.”