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Affordable housing in Ashland? Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming These luxury townhomes on Park Street in Ashland � 1,205 square feet with two bedrooms and 1.5 baths � start at $175,000. A real estate broker said the least expensive three-bedroom home he has listed is $165,000. Ashland officials are looking for ways to make affordable housing available to people who can�t afford such homes. A low-income homebuyer assistance program has proven inadequate because there are few properties inexpensive enough to qualify. By TONY BOOM ASHLAND � Escalating real estate prices have sent the town�s Housing Commission back to the drawing board to come up with affordable housing in a community that some say is in danger of gentrification. The city�s existing low-income purchase program is not used because such houses would sell considerably below market prices. "We didn�t see that it was ever going to get as serious as it is," said Housing Commission Chairman Larry Medinger, who helped formulate the plan in the early 1990s. "At that time we were dealing with a much lower cost of housing, so ... (it) didn�t require any commitment of funds from the city." Popularity doesn�t help Good news in Ashland is often bad news for affordable housing. AARP�s Modern Maturity magazine last year rated Ashland the second-best small town for retirees in America. The town�s attractiveness has also been touted in USA Today, Time and other national publications. These reports make the town�s real estate more desirable and push prices up. In the first two months of this year, the average selling price of homes in Ashland was $243,481. The county�s average was $162,717, while homes in nearby Phoenix and Talent averaged $136,398, according to appraiser Roy Wright. Median income in Ashland was $38,000 for as family of four in 1999. If 30 percent of that income goes to housing, buyers would have $950 a month for mortgage payments. In most cases that won�t work with median home sale prices at $172,000 in 1999 and the average monthly cost (mortgage payments and property taxes) of a three-bedroom home at $1,635. In 1999, 43 percent of Ashland�s 8,283 households had incomes of less than 80 percent of the city�s median salary, according to a plan the city prepared for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Wright reports that homes sold so far in 2001 have averaged a 10 percent increase over last year�s prices. "It�s typical of Ashland," said Wright, who noted that last year�s average price increased 20 percent. Under the current program a three-bedroom house would have to sell for no more than $121,000 for the buyer to qualify for assistance, said Gateway Real Estate broker Bruce Roberts. His lowest listed three-bedroom in Ashland this week was priced at $165,000. "As long as Ashland continues to be in such demand, it doesn�t bode well for affordable housing," said Roberts. "Everyone that moves here drives prices up. My kids and most people�s kids won�t be able to grow up and buy a house in Ashland." A draft of the commission�s new goals calls for 15 percent of Ashland�s housing to be affordable to families who earn 50 to 80 percent of Jackson County�s $38,000 median income for a family of four. The draft also suggests creating a city staff position to support affordable housing, forming a housing department and making a commitment to fund affordable housing programs. The goals will be sent to the City Council for consideration. The draft does not identify how much it would cost to implement these goals. "We are not going to build our way out of this," said Medinger, who is a builder. "We have to have a really aggressive program." Medinger would like to see the city, through a housing department or land trust, bid on existing properties with seed money, then lower the purchase price so new families and others would have mortgages they could afford. Burlington, Vt., also a university town, started a land trust model more than 20 years ago, said Medinger. Now 21 percent of housing falls into the affordable category. "If we could do that in 20 years we�d be doing a great thing." Ashland Community Land Trust Inc., a nonprofit organization, has already sold three units to low-income residents. It hopes to offer up to 18 more units in the near future. The trust acquires property and holds it in perpetuity. Improvements on the property are sold to qualified buyers with a 99-year land lease that is renewable, inheritable and transferable. So far the trust has been funded by federal Community Development Block Grant money. "This should be at the top, a priority ... in terms of the kind of civic things that should be done," said trust President Carlus Harris. "Folks we are looking at are working in restaurants. Even some of the starting teachers, firefighters and police officers could fall into this category." Resale agreements in the trust�s leases keep the homes cheap even when they�re sold. Homebuyers can add 1 percent of the property�s value for each year of occupancy when they sell. For example, a $100,000 home would sell 10 years later for only $110,000, making the home increasingly affordable as time goes by. That would make a huge difference in Ashland, where home prices have shot up 10 and 20 percent annually in recent years. "We are looking at being able to maintain a social fabric so it doesn�t become a completely gentrified city," said Harris. Plaza Cafi and Geppetto�s restaurant have some employees who rent in Talent, Phoenix or Medford because Ashland rents are more than they want to pay, says owner Ron Roth. "Quite a few people who worked here back in the �80s started out in affordable, walk-to-work type housing and were able to buy their own homes," said Roth. "What was doable 10 to 15 years ago is a lot tougher now." Roth would like to see the City Council provide permanent funding for the land trust. He thinks the trust should invest in rentals, where they could keep rates low so workers could save money for down payments on homes. "I think there�s more bang for the buck that way," said Roth. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.