Housing affordability continues to be a problem across the state and the Lehigh Valley is no exception.
While the affordability of housing isn’t as dire as in some regions like Philadelphia and Allegheny counties, Lehigh and Northampton County both have a challenging landscape for those looking for apartments and single-family homes in the region.
Bryce Maretzki, director of policy and planning for the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority, said recent figures posted by the authority on its website show an alarming number of households paying more than they can afford for housing.
In Lehigh County, the rent burden is 50.5%, significantly higher than the state average of 44.9%. In Northampton County it’s slightly lower at 49.4%.
Rent burden refers to the percentage of the population that is paying more than 30% of its income for housing.
“When people are forced to pay greater and greater amounts for housing they have less for childcare, food and that sort of thing,” Maretzki said.
In Lehigh County the average rent is $994 per month and in Northampton County the average rent is $997 per month, both are higher than the state average of $885 per month.
Maretzki said that is affecting low-income households the most.
“There continues to be a lack of affordable housing units for households earning less than 80% of their area’s median income,” he said. “You may end up having to move further away from employment or school, which is a further burden.”
It is also affecting home ownership rates.
In Lehigh County only 65.3 percent of households own their own home compared to the statewide average of 69%. Northampton County residents are faring a little bit better than the rest of the state with an average homeownership rate of 71.6%.
And the percentage of households that own a home is dropping while the population in the Lehigh Valley is increasing.
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the Lehigh Valley saw a 6.8% increase in population – or about 25,000 new people, putting pressure on the housing supply.
“The overarching message is that we continue to need affordable housing,” Maretzki said.
He said there is a great cost to entry for home ownership for lower income people entering the housing market.
“First they have to be able to afford rent, then they have to save up for a down payment,” he said.
To help with the affordability of entering the housing market, where prices are at record highs, while home values are dropping, the PHFA is trying to assist first-time home buyers with programs that offer down payment and closing cost assistance.
It is also addressing the affordable housing stock by promoting tax credits for low-income housing development, so that there will be more affordable “starter” homes on the market.
In the past 10 years he said the authority has invested $240 million in the program, which is estimated to have leveraged around $5 billion in new housing projects.
But the picture isn’t entirely bleak, he said. He said Pennsylvania as a whole still has a relatively affordable housing market, especially in more rural areas.
In Berks County, for example, the average rent is only $720 per month and the rent burden is below the state average at 37.4%.
Maretzki said encouraging home ownership is important.
“That’s what helps create wealth and intergenerational wealth. You now have an asset,” he said.
And the PHFA will continue to work on making affordable housing available to Pennsylvanians.