Doors Slam Shut on Affordable Housing

Concern number one regarding the impact of growth on Fredericksburg. Well. . . on my list that is probably sprawl and the effects on the environment. But concern number two is most definitely the impact it has on working families and fixed-income residents. Affordable housing is a big part of that, and I am relieved to see that the Free Lance-Star is starting to pay attention to the issue:

The housing market and industry have become unfriendly to poor families, and to young people just starting out. That has become abundantly clear in the Fredericksburg region over the past decade as the prices of new and resold housing–propelled by rising land costs–have skyrocketed. “Affordable housing” has become the oxymoron of the 21st century.

Fannie Mae’s predictable view is that business is business, and that despite the trillion dollars in ongoing business it does, it must make up for all those loans gone bad.

Those who suffer, however, are the prospective buyers who were just achieving the financial goals necessary to buy a home–only to see fees, down payments and, of course, interest rates rise to the point that they are once again priced out of the market. Once again, those who strive to live within their means are hurt by those who blithely overextend themselves.

The result is a wider gap between the haves and the have-nots in this country, and a growing population of fellow Americans who live in the shadows of mountains of wealth.

Smart growth initiatives – wrongly applied – only exacerbate the problem. Who wants to build a bunch of townhomes when it is more cost effective for planners to build $400K homes on five acre lots? Fewer kids to educate, and more tax dollars for localities. Damn shame. . .