New Orleans homeownership earns a ‘B,’ housing report card shows
10th October 2016 · 0 Comments
By Della Hasselle
Contributing Writer
Through help from its public agencies, the organization HousingNOLA is halfway to its goal of adding 3,000 affordable housing units in New Orleans by 2018.
That is the most recent statistic released last week in a new report that touts partnerships between community leaders and public, private and nonprofit organizations working to solve New Orleans’ affordable housing crisis.
In December, HousingNOLA promised to work with Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration to create 5,000 homes by 2021, as part of a 10-year, multiple-increment plan that would help fight housing inequity by maximizing scarce government resources and inspiring investors with the private sector.
Officials announced they have either created or preserved 1,991 new affordable housing opportunities for the city’s residents so far. Moreover, the city has begun to address systemic, prejudicial problems that prevent affordable housing from being built in the first place, the report touted.
Yet, not all housing-related news in New Orleans this year has been good, representatives said. The report found that the cost of housing in New Orleans has continued to rise for both homeowners and renters.
From 2014-2015, the citywide median home value rose nearly 13 percent, for example, and the median rent increased four percent. The number of cost burdened renters, or those paying more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs, increased by 2.5 percent.
Considering the progress and backslide together, in its first annual report card on the state of housing in New Orleans, released in late September, HousingNOLA gave the city a “B” for its efforts.
“We know that the housing market in the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana are precariously balanced and poised to falter without deliberate intervention,” Andreanecia M. Morris, the executive director of HousingNOLA, said in a letter introducing the report card. “While we have had success in policy interventions and seen a slight decrease in the number of cost burdened households, there is still much to be done in order to address the needs for all who call New Orleans home.”
Affordable housing options have been created through a variety of means, according to the report, including through the use of Housing Authority of New Orleans vouchers, Louisiana Housing Corporation Units, UNITY of New Orleans vouchers and opportunities created by Landrieu’s office.
Through the Department of Community Development, HANO and NORA, the city has made 572 units affordable, according to the report.
The city’s rental housing program, for example, provides affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income families. Funds are awarded to private developers for the acquisition, rehabilitation, new construction and soft development cost associated with developing affordable rental housing.
The city also provides homeownership opportunities by developing properties through acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of homes that will be sold to low-income families.
Other programs address needs of those with disabilities, to help them avoid costly institutional care.
The report touted dozens of other initiatives, measuring success by providing updates on goals set out in the organization’s “10 Year Strategy and Implementation Plan,” released last year.
For instance, the City of New Orleans’ Neighborhood Housing Improvement Fund (NHIF) has been dedicated to help homeowners and renters rehabilitate. That not only creates affordability, according to the report, but also encourages neighborhood stability.
The City Planning Commission is also playing a part, HousingNOLA reports, with a study on mandatory inclusionary zoning.
And the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) has now implemented the criminal background check policy it adopted in 2013, which should allow more residents to live in affordable homes.
Work has also been done with FEMA to lower flood insurance costs, the Energy Efficiency for All coalition to promote better energy policies and the Louisiana Housing Alliance and Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless to support those in need with Medicaid.
Yet, the report also points out that in the grand scheme of things, the city has “a lot of work to do” considering the number of cost-burdened households impacted by home prices and rents going up, and wages remaining stagnant.
“Unfortunately, many still refuse to admit that there is a problem around housing and focus on symptoms rather than systems,” Morris said. “This makes our shared work even more vital—we must continue our strategic advocacy, passionate engagement and innovative efficacy to shepherd meaningful change with lasting impact.”
This article originally published in the October 10, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
