(HOW) CAN WE SOLVE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS?

By Catherine Steck McManus | Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County

There is an affordable housing crisis impacting our community. We know this.

Rent and the cost of housing has increased – the Orlando Sentinel reported this summer the cost of rent year to year went up nearly 19% in Orlando, the highest in the nation. Wage growth has not remotely kept up with housing appreciation. There is a shortage of construction workers, and in the supply chain. And there is an insufficient number of new units coming to market. In addition, more than 7,000 affordable units in Central Florida will be sunsetting in the next decade.

This is troubling data. But what does it actually mean for our friends, family, neighbors, and community?

It means that those who had not previously struggled to pay a mortgage – or to pay rent – are now finding themselves in this position.

Catherine Steck McManus

Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County’s homebuyers have historically been low-to-moderate income, including hospitality workers, administrative staff, and transportation workers. Every one of these buyers has their own challenges, triumphs, and stories, and we engage with them throughout their journey and celebrate their success.

More recently, however, we have seen an increasing number of applications from those in professions like teachers, corrections officers, and postal workers. These families and individuals are presenting with higher-incomes and still struggling with rent or mortgage payments.

So, what does this mean? It means that the housing crisis is impacting more and more members of our community, quietly threatening workforce supply, straining social service resources, and undermining our regional quality of life.

Was the lack of affordable housing a concern before? Absolutely. And that’s why Habitat Orlando & Osceola has been providing affordable housing, offering education, and counseling, and working to preserve housing through repair. But the fact that 75% of households in Central Florida cannot afford the average-priced home means that we are reaching a tipping point of unsustainability for our community.

Habitat Orlando & Osceola is redoubling our efforts to increase and preserve affordable housing. Our roof replacement program is helping owners maintain their homes, reduce insurance premiums and, in some cases, keep their insurance entirely. We are launching a wind mitigation program to identify roof problems before they become wholesale replacement needs. And we just announced a micro-grant program for our homeowners impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole to help defray burdensome repair and replacement costs.

Perhaps most critically, we know that the homes we build each year, while life-changing for those homebuyers, are simply not enough to fill the overwhelming need, which reaches into the hundreds of thousands. We are therefore expanding our policy, advocacy, and public engagement work with the knowledge that affordable housing is the cornerstone to improving health, equity, and quality of life outcomes for all.

In the coming months, we intend to convene as equal partners with the providers, funders, and industry leaders in our community -- including our colleagues in building and construction. Working in silos has not and will not solve the crisis we are facing, and we need to look holistically at the challenge, work together, and build and sustain an expanded network to collectively address the moral and economic imperatives of this crisis.

We can only solve this together. Interested in learning more? Get involved at HabitatOrlandoOsceola.org/getinvolved