Today, the topic of affordable workforce housing is gaining prominence amongst the real estate community, government officials, and the ones associated with housing affordability and policy says Maxwell Drever. It’s a complicated issue as it is the housing supply issue and the affordability concern because the earnings of the middle- and moderate-income families have stayed the same for the last two decades or more.
The latest reports suggest that over 25% of the renter household usually spend over half their earnings to pay for rent. That percentage can go up as the renter-household increases and gets projected to go up higher than the new families buying homes.
The problem of housing options
Maxwell Drever says that today it has become crucial for people to stay close to their workplace. It’s critical for the workers who are essential for the local economy. The vital employees comprise the retail clerks, emergency service workers, nurses, teachers, and the like. And this section of workers is unable to purchase a home in the urban areas because of the high price. As a result, they have to reside in places far away from their workplace, increasing travel costs and time. When workers live near to their workplace, they can witness the advantages. There is an ease in traffic congestion and commute times that helps the workers to save more. Also, an affordable workforce community allows people to grow and live in a place for a long time. Also, the economies do get strengthen by assisting employers and retaining the crucial workers.
Delving into the concept of low-cost housing unit
Currently, the government provides secure and comfortable housing for the workers who have an essential role in society. Additionally, the cost of the single-family house is increasing, which makes it highly challenging for a workforce to get access to a safe house. Therefore, the governmental agencies and the non-governmental authorities are taking the required initiatives to provide people with safe homes.
There’s more to this! The low-cost housing concept also plays a crucial part in the entire economic development. It can allow a city or town to retain or attract a talented workforce. That, in turn, helps the local businesses acquire a competitive advantage. Also, the local workforce can benefit from such projects as well. It enables them to stay near to the workplace and witness lesser commute times, which helps them save more. Furthermore, the workforce can enjoy a work-life balance as well.
According to Maxwell Drever, today, multiple properties are apt to get used for single-family houses, affordable workforce housing, assist living units, condominiums, and many more. Hence, the government must take the onus of the situation at hand to implement more low-cost workforce housing projects. The objective is to provide this section of people with a decent, secure living so that they can live better work better, which will also lead to more significant economic and social development. For this reason, the concept of low-cost workforce housing is gaining prominence.