House calls uncommon for nurses ...
By Glenn Roberts, Jr., Thursday, January 31, 2008.Bookmarking Sites
A study released this week by the Center for Housing Policy, a research affiliate of the National Housing Conference that is supported by Freddie Mac, the Fannie Mae Foundation and other organizations, shows that homeownership is just a dream in many markets for workers in many occupations, including high-growth job types. Registered nurses, for example, are in high demand in the job market, though they cannot afford median-priced homes in 108 of 201 metro areas detailed in the study, titled, "Paycheck to Paycheck." (Watch Inman News for a report on this study.)
The Center for Housing Policy has launched a Web site at HousingPolicy.org with information about housing affordability for working families, and an online tool at http://www.nhc.org/chp/p2p/ allows users to examine the typical income levels and home ownership requirements for a range of metro areas across the country. A registered nurse in the San Francisco market, for example, has an annual income of $70,872, though that is still well shy of the estimated $251,541 annual income needed to own a home in that area. Data for the tool is based on a National Association of Home Builders Housing Opportunity Index for third-quarter 2007, wage data from Salary.com, and take into account the average prevailing interest rate and assume a 10 percent down payment.
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Submitted by Anonymous on January 31, 2008 - 6:29pm.
I remember a few years ago affordable housing advocates talking about the difficulty hospitals in wealthy suburbs east of San Francisco (like San Ramon and Pleasanton) were having recruiting DOCTORS to the area because of housing costs. I guess the last thing a doctor with big student loans from medical school needs is a $600,000 mortgage.
It was also very difficult for many public servants like teachers, police officers, and firefighters to find housing in the communities they served. This was before much of the runup in prices of the housing boom.
I don't know what the solution is either. There's only so much land, and there is fierce resistance to high-density housing from established residents whether you're talking about San Francisco or the suburbs.
The developers ended up going on building sprees in faraway suburbs like Tracy and Stockton and we all know what's happening to those developments.
http://www.inman.com/Member/specialreports/0123beta08/story.aspx?ID=6586...