In Prineville, housing is extinct. There's no housing.
We have more than a hundred school age kids in Umatilla County that are homeless… They are couch surfing or living somewhere where they don't have an address.
Affordable housing and houselessness came up repeatedly came up as one of the biggest challenges. Themes revolved around the dearth of options for low- and moderate-income households, for seasonal workers (such as farmworkers, raft guides) and for different-sized households, not just options to own a home but also to rent. From Ontario to La Grande to Central Oregon to Klamath Falls and up Interstate 5 to Portland metro area, the issue of providing enough affordable housing and how to support the unhoused plagues communities.
Participants shared how households or individuals cope: doubling-up with two families in one home or moving further away from their job to wherever they can afford, which can add transportation costs and the burden of taking more time. Adult children live at home longer.
Households with young children have additional challenges. They desire homes with more bedrooms, which are pricier, and also have the added expense of childcare while working. One Participant quoted the statistic that one-third of Jackson County residents spend more than 50% of their monthly income on housing costs and added, “This is the definition of unaffordable housing.” They were referring to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s indicator of housing affordability: keeping housings costs under 30% of one’s income to allow for other household expenses.
Renting may be more accessible but someone noted that the deposits are enormous. They can include first and last month’s rent, and sometimes a security deposit. The participant added that the average household income in their area just do not pay enough to make this a conceivable task for many. While subsidized housing exists, the number of units in a community is not sufficient. Long lists to move into one of these units are common.
MANUFACTURED HOMES
A few Participants talked about manufactured homes. One shared an experience with a lender not wanting to “waste that much time because we don’t touch your manufactured home,” a harsh statement to deliver to anyone much less someone struggling to find a place to live. Lenders can make loans for manufactured homes, but according to a U.S. News and World Report article, “Can You Get a Loan for a Mobile Home?” (February 21, 2021), qualifying is not always easy. Lenders do not have to approve these loans, even if government-backed. Lenders can be denied making those loans entirely if their rates of default are too high. Therefore, they often impose additional qualifications (such as requiring a large down payment) for securing a loan on a manufactured home in attempt to ensure against defaults. Also, as Baker City Participants noted, these homes rarely appreciative in value, removing a wealth-generating opportunity for the owner, another slight endured.
CHALLENGES
The individuals and communities challenged by issues around housing face the huge hurdle that the demand and costs to build new housing are high. A Medford Participant does not see apartment buildings, condominiums, and entry level housing being built in their community. A Baker City Participant said that there are not enough contractors and few developers – a theme that rang out across many conversations. Salem Participants discussed the growing disparities that exist around housing: rural areas, where incomes tend to be lower, attract less capital for residential development, particularly housing serving these modest-income households. A Lincoln City Participant shared that developers are going to build whatever makes the most money and new housing never means workforce housing. Another shared that, even with large subsidies, one community has not been able to attract developers:
There is a huge demand for housing. My city has land. We're ready to use that as a subsidy. We even lowered our sewer and water system development charges. We've changed ordinances and everything to be attractive. I’ve tried to recruit Portland developers but they are too busy and can make more money there.
This is not a simple one to solve or it would have been solved. It's a combination of things.
The issue of affordable housing is significant in Portland. One Participant provided an estimate that 20,000 – 27,000 housing units for the currently unhoused low-income individuals and households are needed. “You have working homeless who may be living in those trailers or the RVs that you see parked along streets. If there was affordable housing, they could actually be taken off the streets…But the housing is just not there… all of the new development is not affordable,” shared the Portland Participant.
OREGON’S RECREATIONAL AND TOURIST HUBS
Short-term rental opportunities like Airbnb and VRBO have greatly impacted Portland, Oregon’s coastal and vacation communities. Owners of rental property can get a greater return for renting a house for weekends versus renting out units for a whole season or the whole year. The demand is high for these short rentals and the wear and tear on the property is less. This makes for a more appealing financial return for the property owner.
Many homes are second homes and sit empty. This feels like a waste to Participants who know that many low-wage earners are desperately looking for housing. A Medford Participant gave the example of a standard 2,100 square foot house that sold for $540,000 to a couple from Petaluma, California. They show-up every few months to see some plays. A Lincoln City Participant summarized “I don't care where you are in the country. When you have a robust tourist economy, you have housing problems. Tourists raise the value of housing.” One positive aspect to the short-term vacation rentals, according to one Participant, is that their community has a transient room tax and it is the second highest revenue generating source for the city.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The impact of so many low- and middle-income individuals and households not being able to secure housing has a significant impact on local economies. Lincoln City Participants discussed how professionals in the health care, education, and other moderate-income fields cannot find an affordable place to live. Staff turns over at a higher rate because they cannot afford to live on the coast. A Participant offered, “The surveys that I've been doing from businesses, housing affects so much of what they do.” A tribal representative in Baker City said that they are trying to build middle-class housing and low-income housing. “That’s always our need,” they added. In Bend, businesses face the same situation: they cannot hire people because people cannot find housing. This is a problem for so many Oregon communities. As Warm Springs Participant shared, “Housing costs go up but wages are the same.”
CHALLENGES WITH CHANGE
Solutions to affordable housing are not easy. For many, change in one's community can be hard to embrace. Participants recounted a number of changes they have seen and the community's unwelcome response. Neighborhoods fight against infill development and increased density. Inclusionary zoning, which Portland has adopted, requires affordable units to be set aside for income-eligible households, but developers are vocal about the impacts to their bottom line. Neighbors of such developments – or any development designated for low- and moderate-income families – can oppose affordable housing. “No more Section 8,” one Participant hears regularly.
It’s not just neighborhoods; entire towns don’t want to plan for growth because they simply want to remain the same. The population then moves to where new houses are. Workers in Ontario often live in neighboring Idaho, which has more housing options. A Baker City Participant shared honestly, “ I don't know how comfortable I am [with affordable units abutting my own home], but there's just so many people that are at the lower end. They're barely hanging on.”
HOUSELESSNESS
People shared that they see houselessness all over the state. “It’s just everywhere,” shared an Eastern Oregon Resident. Communities are challenged with how to deal with the individual and their root issues. “There's not the capacity or the resources to deal with it,” shared a Warm Springs Participant. Houselessness can be tied to drug addition, mental illness, and other health issues. Many Participants discussed the sadness they felt when seeing so many people on the street. One wondered if we are creating callousness by getting used to people laying on the sidewalk edge or in a parking lot. “I don’t want to be the person who can walk by someone who is dead in the street and not even notice because I'm putting my blinders on,” they shared. “It is tough to ignore humanity,” another shared.
EMOTIONAL TOLL
Unstable housing, high rents, and being unhoused even for a short time takes an emotional and mental toll on people. For these unsheltered people (and even those working to address these issues), they see no end in sight. A Participant gave the example that a recent county survey found that housing is the most common response to people’s number one health issue. Their second answer was education. “How we make the system more fair is our big opportunity,” said a Portland Participant. They shared the example of how the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is doing so much for their people, meeting basic needs of food, housing, education, and healthcare. There is a gap between the have and have not and underlying wealth inequity. Where and how we go to address it seems as challenging, yet relevant to, bridging the urban rural divide.