A new report indicates why Chattanooga and Hamilton County officials do not need to extend PILOTs to apartment complex developers. Demand is high, therefore developers will continue to build to meet the demand without PILOTs.
What is truly needed in the Chattanooga metroplex is low-income affordable housing.
“Homeownership Drops to Lowest Level in Decades”
A new report lays out why so many Americans are renting even though rents are rising nearly everywhere.
Mike Maciag - JUNE 24, 2015
The decline of homeownership in America has persisted for about a decade, showing no signs of slowing down in recent years.
Instead, more Americans are renting, often at prices they struggle to afford.
A report published Wednesday by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University highlights several key trends related to the housing market, many of which draw attention to the growing problem of housing affordability.
The national homeownership rate fell to 63.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, the lowest level in two decades. Homeownership peaked around 2004 and has declined ever since, in part due to would-be homeowners facing mounting financial hurdles. Stagnant incomes and restricted access to financing also played a role in preventing people from owning houses, according to the report.
The decline in homeownership has increased demand for rental housing. The study found that, between 2004 and 2014, the rental market experienced the strongest growth since the late 1980s. The move away from homeownership has not been confined to select regions of the country or a few demographic groups.
Some attribute the shift to Millennials’ preference for renting. But homeownership rates have followed a steady downward trend across all age groups, with the exception of those over age 65. Householders between the ages of 45 and 64 accounted for roughly double the share of renter growth over the past decade than those under age 35, according to the report.
It's not just younger Americans who are preferring to rent -- the slow shift away from homeownership has occurred across all age groups. Homeownership rates for all age groups have declined in recent years, with the notable exception of those over age 65. Although homeownership has plummeted, rates would be even lower if it weren’t for the aging of baby boomers, as older Americans have historically owned property at high rates.
The steady drop in homeownership hasn’t been limited to select regions of the country, either. Between 2006 and 2013, homeownership rates dipped in all but one of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. Many areas with the largest shifts away from homeownership were hard hit in the bursting of the housing bubble, such as the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada, and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., metro areas.
Ownership 2013 2006 Change % Rate Rate
Memphis, TN -5.7% 60.1% 65.8%
Knoxville, TN -3.8% 67.0% 70.9%
Nashville, TN Region -3.1% 65.8% 68.9%
Chattanooga, TN. -1.0 67.6% 68.7%
Source: http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/gov-housing-report-shows-declining-homeownership-increasing-cost-burden.html
Check out this related story which indicates a recent survey shows most people think state and local governments aren't doing enough to ensure a sufficient supply of affordable housing. Several cities are trying to help.
BY J.B. Wogan | JUNE 11, 2014
Source: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-most-americans-want-government-action-for-affordable-housing.html
Larry Grohn
Chattanooga City Council – District 4
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Everyone is familiar with the Wizard in the Wizard Of Oz who said, "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain". Well we have several "wizards" in county government including several Commissioners and the Mayor who seem to be more concerned with insuring that the taxpayers focus on the contingency fund (where they cannot find fault with results or motives), than where the taxpayers are really "getting the shaft". Where? It is with the many unwarranted and shameful PILOTS being awarded to their friends and the well connected at these meetings, time after time. City Councilman Larry Grohn, you will get no further than we the taxpayers have in stopping these tax giveaways. Presenting the facts at each county commission meeting, or as City Councilman Grohn has in his recent article, would cause most fair minded people to throw up their hands in disgust as they witness these elected officials ignoring the facts and continuing to grant these corrupt PILOTS with impunity, regardless of the tax burden being passed on to the rest of us. One commissioner actually said to me, "we're not giving anything away, we never had the money in the first place". If you can figure out that logic,or the lack thereof, you are smarter than me. I am disgusted, but not surprised, that seemingly good people get elected and quickly ignore the will of those that put them there. I challenge all of you in county government to turn down one of these tax giveaways, and see how fast they will still build their apartments anyway. Better yet, I challenge you to take an honest poll, and see if the public supports these "boondoggles", and then vote accordingly. Anyone giving odds? The recent outcry and vote against the property tax increase was only met with sour grapes comments (and court house step pronouncements). Mayor, you want more money for worthy county projects? (that you complained you had to cut), quit giving away the money and you may have it. All of you, stand up for the will of the people that elected you, and restore our hope that government, yes good government can function after all. As for now Councilman Grohn- I am sorry to say that you (and we) are wasting our collective breaths. And we wonder why people are so cynical.
Bill Reesor
Ooltewah