Housing Bubble

Study finds workforce heroes cannot afford homes

June 11, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC—A study released today by the Homeownership Alliance found on average the nation’s workforce heroes—fire fighters, nurses, police officers and teachers—working in central cities have less than a one-in-three chance of finding a home they can afford. In the surrounding suburbs, the opportunities deteriorate to around three-in-ten.

Workforce heroes and their professional services are critical to any community. However, they often find it difficult to live in the communities that they serve. The study released today by the Homeownership Alliance lays out some evidence of just how difficult it is for these workforce heroes to become homeowners.

The study findings will be highlighted in a Workforce Housing Symposium today at George Washington University. David Crowe, Senior Staff Vice President for Federal Regulatory and Housing Policy for the National Association of Home Builders, conducted the study.

Affordable homeownership opportunities for workforce heroes are important for their full participation in the education of their children, the civic affairs of the communities they serve and the success of their employment missions. Homeownership opportunities for workforce heroes are critical to the quality of life that makes a community healthy and attractive.

“The saintly California cities of San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego are particularly difficult areas for heroes to aspire to homeownership, as is Los Angeles and, to the north, Seattle. The cities of Boston and Chicago also have poor opportunities for workforce hero homeownership. The suburban locations with very low hero homeownership opportunities include the areas around the same cities already mentioned, as well as the suburbs of Memphis, New York, Dallas and Milwaukee,” the study found.

If all of the individual comparisons of opportunity and lack of opportunity are summed in a simple contrast, the metropolitan areas with the least homeownership opportunity for heroes are Dallas, Seattle and Washington, DC followed closely by Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco and San Jose. Relatively better homeownership opportunities can be found in the metro areas of San Antonio and Cleveland followed closely by Detroit and New Orleans.

“We hope this study and today’s symposium will bring attention to the problems our nation’s workforce heroes face when trying to own a home in the communities they serve. When our workforce heroes can live in the communities they serve, both the community and the workers benefit,” said Rick Davis, president of the Homeownership Alliance.

The symposium and study seek to raise awareness about the workforce housing problem and discuss potential solutions to increase homeownership among our nation’s workforce. Both are sponsored by the Homeownership Alliance and are part of the Alliance’s celebration of Homeownership Month—an annual event to promote homeownership and its many social and economic benefits.

Source: Homeownership Alliance

Related: Homeownership for Heroes (PDF)