At last Thursday
's monthly Realtor meeting with Sisters Planning Director Eric Porter, consulting planner Susanna Julber discussed some of the details of the new Sisters Housing Plan.
The plan is part of the city's Comprehensive Plan Policy (which was adopted in 2005) and is designed to ensure that Sisters' long-range plan includes an adequate supply of affordable housing.
The goal of the Housing Plan is "to explore and recommend how one in 10 of all new housing units built in the City by 2025 can be made affordable to families with low incomes."
Here in Sisters, that's no mean feat. Nationally, "Affordable Housing" is defined as that in which residents spend no more than 30 percent of their gross household incomes on housing-related expenses. Since the Sisters Area Median Income (AMI) for 2007 was $58,800, that means that for a home on the market to be considered "affordable," it would have to cost less than $180,500.
However, as Julber pointed out, between 2001-2006, the average home price in the Sisters area (including the entire Sisters school district) nearly doubled, from $235,000 to $460,000. Meanwhile, the average payroll in Deschutes County increased by just 17 percent.
Economic forecasts indicate that although job growth will continue in Central Oregon, it will be at a slower pace than previously experienced and most of the job growth is expected in the lower-paying service industry jobs (especially in Sisters, which has a tourist-based economy).
Here are some of Julber's other findings:
- A household would need to earn $102,048 to afford a home in Sisters based on the median home price of $314,900 (according to January 2008 MLS figures), with a monthly payment of around $2,000.
- As of January 2008, a person earning AMI here ($58,800) could not afford a single home for sale in the City (the lowest priced listings as of January included two townhomes priced at $199,990). [As of Oct. 23, 2008, there were five residential listings in Sisters of properties 1,000 square feet or more under $180,000 -- including four short sales.]
- Based on the city's current Comprehensive Plan, there will be a need for 113 "Affordable" units by 2025 (there are currently 59 units of permanent affordable housing planned or existing).
Several strategies have been suggested to address the problem, including the following:
- Create a target income level of 60-120 percent of AMI
- Adopt a package of Developer Incentives
- Create a Housing Trust Fund
- Develop and adopt a Comprehensive Annexation Ordinance
- Adopt an Affordable Housing, or Cash In-Lieu-of-Housing, Fee based on impact of development
- Adopt a new Medium-Density Land Use District
- Support a Homeowner Rehabilitation Program
- Appoint a City staff person to monitor progress on housing goals
Eric Porter says that next month, after a few of the strategies are ironed out, the Housing Plan will be presented to the Sisters Planning Commission. The first public hearing regarding the Housing Plan hasn't been set yet, but Porter expects that to happen sometime in December. Stay tuned...
About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit http://www.centraloregonhome4you.com/.
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