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<br />Everett 2044 Housing Element Appendix
<br />Category 2: Sensitfve informatfon
<br />entering the ownership market. Much of the growth in owner households has come in areas with older
<br />housing stock, where prices were once more accessible but are now rapidly climbing.
<br />The racial gap is even starker when looking at tenure patterns citywide. In 2023, white residents made
<br />up only 59% of Everett’s populatfon but represented 72% of owner households. Meanwhile, people of
<br />color—especially Black and Latfno households—contfnue to be overrepresented in the rental market and
<br />underrepresented in ownership. For example, in 2023, only 13.5% of Black households in Everett were
<br />homeowners, compared to over 45% of white households.
<br />These inequitfes have lastfng consequences. Homeownership is the primary way most Americans build
<br />wealth, and the inability to buy a home in a growing market like Everett means many families are locked
<br />out of the long-term financial security that ownership provides. As Everett’s housing market heats up,
<br />these barriers may harden unless the city adopts targeted policies to close the racial wealth and
<br />ownership gap.
<br />To address this, Everett will need to go beyond supply-side development and begin focusing more
<br />intentfonally on who gets to buy. That includes expanding down payment assistance, supportfng shared
<br />equity models like community land trusts, prioritfzing homeownership in redevelopment strategies, and
<br />ensuring fair access to financing. As ownership rises, equity must follow—or else the divide between
<br />renters and owners will only deepen.
<br />Renters Face Greater Instability and Overcrowding
<br />In Everett, renters make up nearly half of all households—and their housing experience is markedly
<br />different from that of homeowners. While the number of owner-occupied households has slowly
<br />increased over the past decade, the number of renter households has held relatfvely steady, hovering
<br />just above 22,000. But what hasn’t remained steady is the level of financial strain and instability renters
<br />face. Rents have risen sharply, wages haven’t kept pace, and the data show that more renters are living
<br />in crowded, cost-burdened, and precarious situatfons than ever before.
<br />In 2023, renters accounted for roughly 50% of all occupied housing units in Everett, down slightly from a
<br />high of 54% in 2012. Stfll, the total number—22,123 renter households—remains close to its historical
<br />peak. These households are more likely to include young adults, people of color, single parents, and
<br />immigrants, many of whom have fewer housing optfons and less financial cushion to absorb rising costs.
<br />Cost burden is perhaps the most telling indicator of the strain renters face. As of 2023, nearly 60% of
<br />renter households in Everett spent more than 30% of their income on rent, and almost 30% were
<br />considered severely cost-burdened—paying more than half their income just to keep a roof over their
<br />heads. These figures represent a steady upward trend. In 2010, the rate of severely cost-burdened
<br />renters was 23.8%. By 2023, it had jumped to 29.8%. That means thousands more households are just
<br />one unexpected expense—an illness, a car repair, or a job loss—away from housing insecurity.
<br />Rising rents are a major driver. Between 2010 and 2023, median gross rent rose from $878 to $1,675—
<br />an increase of nearly 91%. Larger units saw the most dramatfc increases. A three-bedroom apartment,
<br />for example, cost $1,410 in 2010 and $1,969 in 2023, while four-bedroom units reached $2,461. For
<br />families, partfcularly those with lower or moderate incomes, the cost of rentfng a home that fits their
<br />needs has climbed far beyond what many can reasonably afford.
<br />These financial pressures are also showing up in the form of overcrowding. In 2023, more than 1,600
<br />renter households were living in homes with 1.01 to 1.50 occupants per room—an indicator of moderate
<br />crowding—while another 928 households were severely overcrowded, with more than 1.5 people per
<br />room. In total, over 11% of renter households are now living in crowded or severely crowded conditfons,
<br />a number that has been growing steadily since 2010. These households are more likely to include
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