Agenda Packet 2-24-20 Work Session

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February 11, 2020 4 Eugene and Springfield, OR in 2-bedroom homes. Increasingly, homes with three-bedrooms are being occupied by renters, climbing to 30% in 2017 from 25% in 2010. Renter households occupying studios and one- bedroom homes has stayed relatively stable since 2010, edging up from 29% to 30%. Eugene has recently shifted to a majority renter city, where 52% of households rented their home in 2017. Springfield retains a slight majority of owner-occupied homes, where 51% of households own and 49% rent. Assisted and Public Housing A variety of assisted housing developments are currently available and serving low-income persons in the cities of Eugene and Springfield. There are at total of 4,452 assisted housing units in 113 developments in both cities, including projects subsidized with Section 8, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, or other project-based subsidies. Eugene and its urban growth boundary has a total of 3,516 units in 83 developments and Springfield and its urban growth boundary has 866 units in 28 developments. Homes for Good serves as the housing authority for the cities of Eugene and Springfield. There are a total of 595 public housing units in Lane County with 383 of those in Eugene and Springfield, and as of February 2020, 98.9% were leased. Additionally, Homes for Good has 3,065 total vouchers (3,056 in use), of which 236 are designated as Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (192 in use). For all voucher programs, 6% are held by households with one or more persons who identify as a minority race or ethnicity. Homes for Good maintains a waiting list for all their public housing units. There are approximately 1800 households on public housing waiting lists with typical wait times between 1 and 5 years. The Section 8 waiting list was last opened in 2019 and 4,887 people responded to the online application. At this point in time, 74% of families issued vouchers are able to lease a unit. Housing Cost Burden While wages and incomes have continued to rise in recent years, they have not kept pace with the cost of both owner and rental housing in both cities. From 2010 to 2017, Median Household Income rose 14% (most of that increase occurred since 2014) in Eugene, and by 15% (two-thirds of that growth occurred through 2014) in Springfield. Housing costs in the Eugene-Springfield area have risen more sharply since 2010, especially in recent years. Median home prices have increased by about 130% between 2000 and 2019 in both Eugene and Springfield, reaching $320,000 in Eugene and $270,100 in Springfield (Zillow October 2019). Median Rental Rates have also increased substantially faster than incomes, if not February 24, 2020, Work Session – Item 2CC Agenda - Page 18