An issue that is brought up in every area of Provo is the cost of housing. It is especially hard on those who would like to be first time homebuyers (my two youngest kids are in this boat) and renters on fixed incomes.This is a complex issue, and one email can’t begin to cover all the variables, factors, and possible solutions, even though this is a fairly long email. 😉

Housing Affordability

At a Housing Affordability Round Table a couple of weeks ago in Draper, we discussed why we are where we are and possible solutions to the housing affordability crisis here in Utah. It is a supply and demand issue that has been exacerbated by a lot of factors including rapid population growth (both home grown–I added seven kids myself–and move-ins), high construction costs, limited land, investors, and incomes not keeping pace with the increase in housing costs.

Provo’s demographics are a bit different than other areas because we have such a large number of students, and the majority of our housing is rental, which can skew some of the data. Here are some takeaways from the summit that I have adjusted to Provo’s numbers.

• Approximate Median Household Income: $70,000
• Median Sale Price for a home: $440,990
• Estimated Monthly Mortgage Payment on $440,990, assuming 5% down payment, 30 yr fixed rate of 6.6%, $100/month homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance at 0.75%, property tax of $220/month: $3,186

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recommends that only 30% of your gross income be spent on housing. $2,965 is almost 55% of our median household income. A family would need to earn over $127,000/year–$57,000 above our median household income–and come up with a $22,000 down payment in order to afford half the homes on the market.

Looking at it another way, half the households in Provo earn $70,000/year or less, and so need homes priced at $250,000 or less (according to the 30% rule). This lack of homes that are affordable disrupts the natural cycle of renters moving out of rentals to become home owners, and this disruption decreases the availability of rentals. So then we build more rentals, but what we really need are starter homes that are more affordable which will free up more rentals.

Renters are also facing extremely high housing costs, especially compared to their incomes. Student housing averages between $400-$800/month, which means that they need to make over $24,000/year to afford rent without considering the additional income they need to pay tuition. And the average rent for a two bedroom is about $1,250/month, which means a family would have to make $50,000/year to afford a two bedroom. These high rental housing costs not only affect students, but also families, professionals, seniors, and others who can’t afford to buy a home.

All this is to say that we need to be looking at ways to thoughtfully increase the supply of attainable, for sale housing while preserving our neighborhoods. This is a complex issue, but I do have some ideas that we should look at here in Provo.

Obtaining a building permit, whether for a new build or a simple home improvement, should not take weeks or months. We need to improve and streamline this process because time is money and adds to the cost of a project. 

The city should require more “for sale” new builds to have Covenants Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) requiring the owner to occupy the home for a specified number of years and is a requirement for each new owner. This discourages investment buyers and encourages buyers who want to live in the home. 1-5 years is standard.

We have to allow for more true starter homes to be built. My husband and I bought our first home in 1989 in west Provo. It was pretty much the only home we could afford and was a simple rectangle with a carport–a true starter home. We need to look at why true starter homes are not being built anymore and address these reasons. By the way, I raised all my kids in this starter home, and my husband and I still live here and love our neighborhood!

I support owner occupied Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). These allow more families/individuals to buy a home by offsetting their mortgage costs with rental income, and they help seniors or others to stay in their homes, because of the added income, all while adding to housing stock. The more homes that are owner occupied, with or without an ADU, the more stable the neighborhood.

I support proactive code enforcement to make sure that ADUs are owner occupied and otherwise following code so out of town investors are disincentivized from buying homes and burdening our neighborhoods. 

We need higher density student housing on the blocks south of BYU campus, which will free up the single family homes in neighborhoods where students now have to live because all the student housing close to BYU is taken. 

I will dedicate a portion of existing resources in the city budget to creating a housing office to address housing issues from educating renters and landlords to helping residents apply for property tax relief to researching best housing practices for different areas of Provo. A priority would be helping residents work through the ADU process and working with neighborhoods to alleviate concerns over ADUs. 

If you have additional ideas, I would love to hear them.

Cottage Meetings

September 25th
Hosted by Rick West
1184 E. 850 S.
7:30-9:00 pm

September 27th
Hosted by Christian and Kaci Faulconer
1311 Camelot Drive
7:00-8:30

October 2nd
Hosted by Ben Gibbs
2200 Oak Crest Lane
7:00-8:30

Debates/Forums

Wednesday, September 24th (in-person for students only, livestreamed for general public)
BYU Political Affairs Society student academic association
Location TBA
7:30-8:30
Cancelled at the direction of BYU administration
 
Tuesday, September 30th
Forum hosted by BikeWalk Provo
Provo Library
7:00 pm

Wednesday, October 8th
Civic Engagement Forum
The Bright Building
33 West 400 South

Saturday, October 11th
Discussion with Conserve Utah Valley
Provo Recreation Center
320 West 500 North

Hope to see you at an event or when I am out knocking doors! Feel free to reach out anytime.