So, along with programs to increase housing options for the poor, the plan offers a generous menu to encourage the middle class to commit to the city. The report, which will be opened up for public comment, suggests that the city should expand a fund to assist buyers with down payments. It also recommends eliminating the onerous transfer tax for first-time home buyers. The income cutoffs are quite generous. A family of four earning $105,000 would qualify for both programs. … [Read more...] about It’s not just affordable housing that’s in short supply in Philly. So is middle class housing.
Middle class housing
Dallas Has a Housing Plan to Bring Back the Middle Class
Two days after lamenting middle-class residents' flight from Dallas, the City Council did something about it. By a 15-0 vote, the council passed Dallas' first comprehensive housing policy, which it hopes will bring 20,000 new homes to 13 of the city's 14 council districts.Through zoning and financing initiatives, the plan calls for increasing housing production, improving existing housing stock and encouraging home ownership in three types of targeted areas — redevelopment areas, stabilization areas and emerging market areas — throughout the city. The city's identified redevelopment areas are sites that already have major projects scheduled to begin in the next year, such as Red Bird, the area surrounding the Valley View mall in North Dallas and the area just south of downtown where the proposed high-speed rail station may be built.Stabilization areas, as classified by the plan, are areas on the edges of desirable neighborhoods — like West Dallas, Casa View … [Read more...] about Dallas Has a Housing Plan to Bring Back the Middle Class
Queens is in the middle of a middle-class housing boom
Most folks pay through the nose to live in New York City, but many in search of affordable middle-class housing are finding some relief in Queens. Residential housing is booming in the borough. In February, almost half of new residential construction was in Queens, according to city figures. The NYC Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC) registered 2,847 new housing units in February, with 1,234 of those in Queens, or about 43 percent of the new units in the five boroughs. “Queens real estate is absolutely bonkers these days,” said Rob MacKay, a spokesman for the Queens Economic Development Corp. The February Queens housing number was almost a 300 percent jump compared with the monthly average over the preceding 12 months, NYCEDC officials said. It was a much higher increase than in any other part of the city, according to the NYCEDC. This jump was Queens’ “highest level since December 2015,” NYCEDC said in a report. A “mega-scale project” in Long … [Read more...] about Queens is in the middle of a middle-class housing boom
City Hall’s middle class housing plan has run into southern Dallas politics
Anna Hill has spent years fighting decline and despair in her Dolphin Heights neighborhood. Now, she said, City Hall is turning its back on her community because they're "planning to kick the CHDOs aside." CHDOs, pronounced "chodos," stands for Community Housing Development Organizations, nonprofits that have used city dollars for years to build new houses that dot some blocks of poverty stricken neighborhoods. Hill says they've been a boon to South Dallas.Without them, she said, "somebody's going to get left out, and it'll be people right here."The city's proposed comprehensive housing policy is, in many ways, a repudiation of the way CHDOs have operated in Dallas for years. The plan calls for building 20,000 new homes, helping homeowners and landlords and bringing back the city's middle class. And none of the proposed target areas fall where the CHDOs have worked.City housing officials -- who have spent months cleaning … [Read more...] about City Hall’s middle class housing plan has run into southern Dallas politics
Aim higher on housing for the middle class in Mass.
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page February 25, 2018 The housing bill that Governor Charlie Baker presented to the Legislature in Beacon Hill testimony last month showcased the governor at his best — but also his most tentative. The bill is well intended, thoughtful, and realistic legislation that would push Massachusetts a step toward solving one of its biggest long-term problems: the lack of middle-class housing. The problem is that it’s an exceedingly small step when so much more is needed.With a reelection campaign coming up, a truly innovative housing bill could be Baker’s opportunity to put forward a transformative agenda for Massachusetts. Reforming the state’s antiquated housing and zoning rules could lower housing costs by reducing obstacles to new construction, making the state a more attractive place for companies to locate and families to live. Advertisement To do … [Read more...] about Aim higher on housing for the middle class in Mass.