Affordable Homes Needed
It’s a remarkable feat to build a house in a week. It’s at least equally remarkable in Orange County to make a 1,200-square-foot, four-bedroom house affordable to a blue-collar family.
The nonprofit group Habitat for Humanity, relying on volunteers, built the new house in Costa Mesa last month. The so-called blitz build is a favorite tactic of Habitat and helps gain notice for the group. So does having a volunteer like former President Jimmy Carter, who, although not present this time, has been known to wield a paintbrush or hammer for homes under construction by the group.
In the last 10 years, Habitat has built 71 homes in Orange County. To be eligible to buy one, families must be low-income, have good credit and be living in substandard housing. Buyers also must perform “sweat equity,” 600 hours working on the house or helping Habitat.
Much credit should go to the men and women, not all in construction trades, who give up their free time to help hang the drywall and pour the concrete.
A Garden Grove contractor took a week off to help build the Costa Mesa house, which has become home to Linda and Michael Sebo and their four children. An office supply store shut down for a day to let nearly all 60 employees work on the house. The store paid its employees their regular salaries.
It’s not easy coming up with the money to buy a house in Orange County, especially on a salary like that of Michael Sebo, a security officer. And unfortunately, high-profile programs like Habitat aren’t anywhere near extensive enough to meet the need. The lack of affordable housing is one of the county’s biggest problems, and the concern it raises was evident in the recent UC Irvine Annual Survey.
The designation “low income” in Orange County applies to a family of four earning $45,000 a year or less. The median family income in the county is $65,800. That suggests the affluence of the county. But it also indicates how difficult it is to live on $10-an-hour jobs such as gardener or hotel maid. The executive director of the nonprofit Orange County Community Housing Corp. calculates that for people that low on the pay scale, a $125,000 home requires a $100,000 subsidy, meaning help from an agency like Habitat for Humanity or another nonprofit group.
Home ownership has long been a key component of the American dream, weaving families ever tighter into the fabric of society. It’s a worthwhile goal and deserves help from nonprofit organizations and the volunteers they depend on. Cities can use their zoning authority to create conditions under which builders are encouraged to provide affordable housing. The old idea that government alone can meet this housing need has been overtaken in recent years by partnerships between nonprofits, developers and local government. These relationships need to be encouraged.
Though last summer’s housing market has cooled, last month was the most active November in a decade. For those frozen out of ownership because of the costs, the prospect of increasing rents is worrisome.
The Orange County Annual Survey, conducted by UC Irvine, reported last month that rents increased 8% in the last year and the county has become one of the tightest markets in the country for rental housing.
The county has always been short of affordable housing, especially for those in the $10-an-hour earning group. But even those making $30,000 or $40,000 a year report having more trouble making ends meet after paying rent.
County government, cities and business leaders need to pay attention when residents say a lack of affordable housing is one of their major concerns. Companies think twice about relocating to a county without enough housing for their employees. Forcing workers into long commutes from apartments or homes in the Inland Empire increases stress on the workers, pollution from cars and traffic jams on the freeways.
