Ordinance 4101-25 - Laserfiche WebLink

Page 12 Everett 2044 Housing Element Appendix Category 2: Sensitfve informatfon compete in the housing market. Incomes for these communitfes have grown in absolute terms, but the persistent wage gap limits housing choices and increases risk of displacement. At the same tfme, the modest gains in homeownership among non-white households have not kept pace with the overall rise in property values, reducing the wealth-building potentfal of homeownership for these groups. The data also show a growing divergence between renters and owners in terms of income. In 2023, the average income of owner households was substantfally higher than that of renters, reflectfng both longstanding patterns of income stratfficatfon and the impact of rising housing prices in locking lower- income residents out of ownership opportunitfes. While homeownership brings financial stability and equity accumulatfon, most renters—especially those in younger age brackets or from historically marginalized communitfes—are unable to make that leap. Even modest starter homes are increasingly priced out of reach for middle-income earners, despite overall wage growth. This disconnect between earnings and housing access underscores the need for housing policy that goes beyond unit counts and square footage. Everett must contfnue to grow its housing supply, but it must also focus on aligning housing prices with what residents actually earn. This means deepening affordability at the lower end of the market, expanding subsidized housing, and using income-based metrics to guide zoning, financing, and development decisions. Equity in housing cannot be achieved through market forces alone. Without deliberate policies that bridge the income-housing gap, Everett’s gains in income and employment will contfnue to benefit only a portfon of the populatfon—leaving many behind in a market they helped build but can no longer afford to live in. High and Rising Housing Cost Burdens Over the last decade, the weight of housing costs in Everett has steadily increased, placing growing pressure on both renters and homeowners. What began as a gradual rise in expenses has now become a structural crisis—one where a significant share of households spend far more than they can afford just to keep a roof over their heads. Cost burden is not just a statfstfc; it’s a daily reality shaping what families can afford to eat, how they care for their children, and whether they can save for the future or remain in their communitfes at all. A household is considered cost-burdened if it spends more than 30% of its income on housing, and severely cost-burdened if that share exceeds 50%. In Everett, both categories have grown alarmingly. Among renters, cost burden is now the norm, not the exceptfon. In 2023, 58.4% of all renter households were cost-burdened—up from 48.9% in 2010. Even more striking, nearly 30% of renters in Everett were severely cost-burdened in 2023, a sharp increase from 23.8% just thirteen years earlier. These numbers reflect the city’s surging rents and the increasingly limited supply of affordable housing, partfcularly for those earning below the median income. Homeowners, while somewhat more stable, are far from immune. In 2023, 33.1% of mortgage-holding homeowners were cost-burdened, and 11.5% were severely burdened. Although these percentages have declined slightly from their post-recession peaks in the early 2010s, they have tfcked back up in recent years as housing prices and interest rates have both climbed. From 2021 to 2023 alone, the number of mortgage households spending more than half their income on housing rose from 1,452 to 1,814. Even as some homeowners benefit from rising equity, many newer buyers face monthly costs that stretch their budgets thin. What’s partfcularly concerning is the breadth of households affected. Cost burden is not confined to a single demographic group—it cuts across age, race, and household type. Young adults, seniors on fixed incomes, families with children, and single working adults are all represented among the city’s cost-