This is a new house in the Takena Estates subdivision of southwest Albany.
On a bike ride on a warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon, this new house with a for-sale sign out front attracted my attention. It looked particularly spiffy and neat, so I stopped to take a photo.
I looked it up on an Internet ad. With three bedrooms and two full bathrooms and 1,394 square feet of interior space, it seemed very similar to the average subdivision house now being built in the Albany area.
In private conversations and in public meetings about housing, the question of “affordability” often comes up.
The ad I looked up for this place was on the Zillow site. As it happens, the site has an “affordability calculator.” It is supposed to show how much of a house you can comfortably afford depending on household income, debt obligations, and how much you can can manage as a down payment.
This particular place, at 1423 Crittenden St. S.W., was listed for sale at $424,900.
According to the Zillow calculator, buyers would need an income of $184,000 a year to be able to afford this house if they put down $100,000. The monthly payment then would come to $2,663. That includes $2,160 for the mortgage as well as property taxes and insurance.
This all seems kind of high to me.
The latest estimate from the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census shows a median income for Albany (meaning half make less and the other half more) of about $70,000. The median income estimate is higher for “families” and higher still, about $96,000, for “married-couple families.”
The government usually defines “affordable housing” as costing a certain percentage of a household’s income. And whether something is affordable obviously depends entirely on personal and family circumstances.
But houses more or less like this one are being built all over the place. They look like nice houses, and they must be affordable to the people who buy them. If they were not, they would not be built. (hh)
So half of Albany will be homeless or move to where, if these are the houses being built as they push homeowners with older and cheaper homes out? Is the city planning on making more shelters, camps and maybe just section off large parts of Albany for those facilities.
Most of these homes are being bought by Californians, which in itself is a HUGE problem, they bring their political beliefs with them since their voting has ruined their communities, but they don’t learn from their mistakes and bring those same policies to Oregon ruining it for us.
Yes, Californians are a problem — they come with the ability and willingness to spread the poison of money. This boosts economic activity and creates jobs. Maybe that’s more bad than good right now.
Not EVERYONE from California is a problem. Just the liberals and democrats. Maybe California could keep them and take some of ours in trade for some conservative and Republicans. We should be so lucky!
I know! Let’s have taxpayer subsidized mortgages. That should solve the problem and be good for the economy too! Very stimulating for the economy actually. Add it to the inflation reduction act, why not it’s all good, and after all, there’s really no limit to what the taxpayer can do! If for any reason the taxpayers should balk at this, simply add it to their water bill. That’s the ticket! Nevermind pesky issues like “taxation without representation” We can do this!
Is there a way to determine the percentage of households that are rentals? Or how many houses in Albany are investment properties?
“1,394 square feet of interior space” – That is so telling because looking at the house the kids will have no backyard and just that little patch of grass in the front.
how about a tiny subdivision, with tiny lots, and tiny houses? something available to the general public?
Forty or fifty year mortgages will become a new norm. One unexpected bill, and you’re in serious trouble.
Yup! Hell it’s been bad for a LONG time. We lost our house in Albany in 2013 because in 2011 I had a catastrophic health issue that resulted in permanent disability almost overnight. I spent those 2 years desperately trying to save my house but the mortgage company lied to us and at the last second pulled the rug out. We had to short sell to avoid foreclosure. Worst time of my life.
so are you now in favor of universal health care?
We will eventually all be homeless at this rate of price increase on homes….except for the very wealthy among us.
funny i live on VA disabilty alone and have no issues making my mortgage payments
but then i chose to drive a 20+ year old truck instead of buying a new one. i could afford to buy a new truck but it would streach me thin that if something happened like needing a new hvac system or something like that.
so life is tough but even tougher if you make stupid choises like over extending you finances
INTERESTING. NICE looking house. Price = $305per sq.ft. seems a little on the high side compared to existing houses on the market . Lot size can make a differene,as can location. Not familiar with this location,lot doesn’t overly large. So WHT so high?
It’s terrible, I don’t know how younger people are going to afford to buy.
The continued social design of our overlord masters…
The soap opera version of Albany will be “The rich and the homeless”. The left over residents here will live in gated communities. Homeless to contain them and the rich to protect their expensive hoarded possessions from the homeless. Utopia with beautiful parks that no one ever uses lol.
I love the play on words regarding the TV soap opera, “The Young and the Restless.” Your version, “The Rich and the Homeless” is priceless. I will be repeating your phrase to my family and friends who are my e-mail buddies. (I’ll attribute it to Chris J.) Thanks for the cleverness. We need a good grin now more than ever.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK H.H….ALBANY IS GROWING, BUT, NOT IN A GOOD WAY…THANKS.
According to Zillow, my 2,000 sq. ft. home is currently $193/sq. ft. $305 for this one? I have a good amount of equity and a house payment of $1,200. Eight years left on my mortgage. I think about moving, but sinking all of that equity into another house and likely increasing what I am used to for a house payment (for another 15 or 30 years) does not seem sensible. My retirement income would not be three times the rent being asked around here and doubtful they would consider my other liquid assets or resultant “nest egg”. I feel kind of stuck quite honestly.
On the other hand, I feel like if someone has something to sell, they should be able to ask whatever they want to for it. As long as someone is willing to pay it, it continues.
“That all seems kind of high to me.” Tongue-in-cheek comments are just the best. Thank you for your articles HH!
Maybe the bubble will burst when interest rates will have been low enough for long enough so that existing low-rate mortgage holders finally have the incentive to sell (either paid-off mortgage, or rates for their new home not much higher than for their old one).
It could start slowly and then snowball into a 2008-style crisis with “upside-down” homeowners and bank failures. Everybody selling while they still can do so.
Cheryl P, No worries! The little kiddos will have a place to play, that is why the city is making all the ken and barbie parks is for the ken and barbie houses.
Thank you for your life long reporting.
The over production of these types of homes create an imbalanced job base and more homelessness. Necessary jobs are often the lowest paying jobs (such as health care workers, food production etc.). Affordable housing is the first step in addressing homelessness. “Housing First”. It reverses conventional homeless aid. More commonly, those affected are expected to look for a job and free themselves from their psychological problems or addictions. Only then they get help in finding accommodation.
“Housing First”, on the other hand, reverses the path: Homeless people get a permanent place to to live – without any preconditions. Social workers help them with applications for social benefits and are available for counseling in general. In such a new, secure situation, it is easier for those affected to find a job and take care of their physical and mental health. The financial benefits might be even higher. Not only are resources for shelters and services freed up once a homeless person receives permanent accommodation. Additionally, people who were previously homeless become taxpayers again in the long term and can thus contribute to the system themselves. Focusing on home retention is also reduces the amount of homeless as some other posters have mentioned.
Have home that is a 4th generation home and we took out a “Line of Credit” back in 2001 at a lower then 4% interest rate and now has gone over 7.5%, so the payment I was making with principal is now all interest because almost double in interest alone.
Younger generation can’t afford an apartment without 2 or 3 roommates even on minimum wage. We’ll all be homeless at this rate. Or living under government housing.
We should help young people and young families to get affordable homes. Yes, that also includes accepting townhouses to Albany.
Could the State just define affordable housing to mean housing built for singles making $70,000 and couples making $96,000 or the medium income for that area? Right now it seems the developers are taking advantage of the law to develop in areas before off-limits.