- The home sales prices per square foot are the lowest and have increased the slowest among all the Submarkets
- Nearly a quarter of units are multifamily, albeit with practically no net gain in multifamily units since 2010
- Greatest increase in the proportion of non-white residents
Median Home Sale Price (2020)
$173,500
+104.10% since 2013
Home Sale Price Per Sq. Ft (2020)
$95.11 per sq. ft.
+80.30% since 2013
Median Building Area
1,709 sq. ft.
TOP STRATEGIES FOR Submarket 8
Increase Supply
Preserve Affordable Supply
Reduce Housing & Transportation Costs
Expand Capital Resources
Promote Housing Stability
Develop Leadership & Collaboration on Affordability
Increase Supply –
Reduce Development Cost and Barriers
Address zoning and land use code that shapes development to provide housing options, including land use options, building sizes, building materials, building forms, parking, and more.
- Implement zoning to allow for increases in residential density by reducing setbacks, minimum square footage requirements and allowable housing types. Resources:
Increase Supply –
Leverage Public Land
Diversify the ways that publicly-owned land is used and managed to provide housing affordability options.
- Identify and market public land for housing, including identifying priority redevelopment, affordable housing and greenfield sites. Resources:
- Develop innovative approaches to address failed partially-developed, abandoned and subdivided tracts, including preparing development sites through site clearance, assemblage and sub-division or subsidizing infrastructure development. Resources:
Increase Supply –
Establish Policies Supporting Affordable Housing
Enact various policies to enable and require affordable housing in new development.
- Implement a “missing middle” housing ordinance by changing the zoning code to allow property owners in targeted areas of the city to build or renovate duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and garden-style apartments, among other building types. Resources:
Preserve Affordable Supply –
Coordinate Across Agencies and Among Governments
Engage in robust coordination efforts between different levels of government and across various state and local agencies to create, manage, and maintain existing affordable units.
- Create and use a Land Bank to stabilize housing stock, eliminating blight and removing uninhabitable or functionally obsolete housing from the marketplace by resolving back taxes or title issues that otherwise keep a distressed property stuck in decline. Manage and repurpose an inventory of property to develop a disposition process which prioritize nonprofit ownership and long-term affordability. Resources:
Preserve Affordable Supply –
Address Blight
Identify and address issues that lead to blight of neighborhoods.
- Implement an Empty Home Tax, requiring landlords to pay an annual tax for a single- family home or entire apartment buildings that are declared vacant for six or more months of a year. Resources:
- Conduct a vacant property condition survey collecting parcel-level data focusing on vacancy status and various problem indicators, often usually physical markers and information. Resources:
- Use city programs to clean, green, beautify and improve safety of neighborhoods. Resources:
Promote Housing Stability –
Stabilize Existing Residents
Implement supportive educational programs and financial policies for residents to stabilize their current housing.
- Provide low interest loans or grants to existing homeowners to rehabilitate their property. Resources:
- Apply and use the Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP) to provide granting funds to city and county governments, public housing authorities, and nonprofits to rehabilitate owner-occupied homes and build and renovate affordable single-family homes for sale to eligible homebuyers. Resources:
Promote Housing Stability –
Promote Home Buying
Providing cost-effective policies and financial assistance to promote home buying in the region will not only help to create wealthier and more stabilized communities, but combined with programs to encourage self-sufficiency, these programs can bring about a more dynamic and productive economy for the region.
- Provide down payment assistance for first-time affordable home buyers. Resources:
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- Develop a Family-Self Sufficiency Program – Would include comprehensive wealth-building programs for low- and moderate-income residents and businesses in predominantly-minority neighborhoods, including: basics of homeownership, creating a realistic budget prior to purchase, property taxes, foreclosure prevention, funding options for first-time buyers, financial education and literacy workshops/coaching, local job training programs, etc. Resources:
Develop Leadership & Collaboration on Affordability –
Build Internal Resources to Address Housing
Expand internal capacity to address housing needs.
- Expand local government housing staff and advisors on housing issues. Resources:
- Encourage Elected and appointed officials to participate in community development trainings. Resources:
Develop Leadership & Collaboration on Affordability –
Promote Creative Collaboration
Collaborate across various industries, sectors, and organizations to create multi-disciplinary approach to provide housing options.
- Create and facilitate a local housing task force to understand jurisdictional issues and opportunities. Resources:
- Coordinate with school boards, superintendents and principals to provide services and resources to families. Resources:
