By KIM PROFFIT

Herald Reporter



With many newly completed and beautiful homes in Evanston, just waiting for families to move in, it would seem unlikely that a housing crisis could be happening.

But Gerry Bolger of the Evanston Housing Authority asserts that there is a current and ongoing housing crisis, specifically in the realm of what he calls, “work force housing.”

In a presentation to the City Council last month, he highlighted important statistics and gave a picture of the housing situation in Evanston, as well as in Uinta County and the whole state.

And that picture wasn’t exactly rosy.

In general, house prices have increased, rent has increased, and rental vacancy has gone down. Though in many places throughout the nation, real estate values have fallen, Wyoming’s (and Evanston’s) have not. According to statistics attained from the Multiple Listing Service by Bolger in June of this year, the average listing price on a home was $232,178.

Though the number of houses on the Multiple Listing Service list has gone up in general, and there are more new homes, many of these are out of reach for moderate to low income families.

According to Bolger’s Executive Summary, “Skyrocketing housing costs outstrip wage income in many areas of Wyoming….A declining supply of affordable housing in economic hot spots and rising rents are growing obstacles to the American dream.”

In addition, average rental rates of the four largest apartment providers in Evanston have increased by 63 percent in the last two years, said Bolger. And rental vacancy rates are “tight.”

In Evanston, the vacancy rate has gone from over nine percent in 2004 to less than one percent in 2008.

This, he stated, leaves out a segment of the population; the segment comprised of senior citizens, veterans, disabled citizens, and single parents — those with fixed incomes. But more and more, he pointed out, it also leaves out those in the service professions, as well as young adults and families within the age group of 24-38 trying to start out. They are also having difficulty finding an affordable place to live.

Bolger urged the council and state leaders not only to “consider what it must feel like to be elderly, disabled, a veteran, or a single parent” facing tough decisions about how to make the monthly check stretch farther, but also to realize that, “Safe, stable, affordable housing promotes strong families: children are more successful in school, families have a foundation [on which] to grow their dreams, and seniors and persons with disabilities can live with independence and dignity.”

To illustrate the crisis, Bolger cited statewide statistics.

“An estimated 54 percent of Wyoming households are unable to afford a house. The number of Wyoming families with worst case housing needs continues to grow, while the inventory of affordable housing shrinks,” he said.

Problems with housing, especially in this sector will affect all of society, he said, and he added that he believes that “this is how you promote economic prosperity. I have always said you pay the price up front or you pay the price ten fold on the back end with the justice system and treatment facilities.”

In Bolger’s tenure with the Housing Authority, he has seen budgets cut repeatedly. He believes that the county as well as the state is at a point where important decisions that will affect the future in big ways need to be made.

“Without more financial resources, the need for safe and affordable housing will not go away anytime soon. Relying on the private sector alone to alleviate today’s housing crisis will not suffice. Private developers can easily build quality homes for families with high incomes, but developing housing for low and moderate incomes will require partnering with federal, state, and local officials, as well as housing professionals,” Bolger said.

Bolger calls for “balanced housing policy” to address the challenges in Wyoming, and gave for one example a housing trust fund, which is a tactic utilized by 46 states to fill the housing gap between what is affordable and what prices are.

He also pointed to the partnership with the Sparrow Group and the Yellow Creek Estates as an example of a successful partnership, utilizing tax credits to make it affordable.

“The time has come for our elected officials to address the growing crisis of inadequate, unsafe and unattainable housing. This crisis touches every community in the state,” Bolger said.