Spring 2023 Executive Insight

So, what is the future of affordable housing in our country? That’s a tough question to answer other than the word “challenging.” Finding affordable housing today is such a challenge, whether it is for rental or homeownership. When you combine all of the elements that go into housing costs, and they all go up during a short time period, then you come up with affordable housing being “excessively challenging.”

Material costs, labor costs, land costs, development costs, financing costs, and increasing building specification requirement costs all add up to the highest home price increases ever. For those who secured their housing prior to all of these cost increases are also subject to increasing property taxes, higher insurance rates, and higher cost of living expenses. So, where will it all end?

Higher costs of living have always been with us, and they will continue to be with us.  It’s just that in the past few years, they have really been excessive. It points to the need for families to plan their finances like never before. Budgeting and saving have never been more important than in today’s financial environment. And housing costs are one of the most important areas in our lives today that need to be under control. This is why homeownership continues to be one of the very best wealth builders for most families today.

Once families have locked into a fixed-rate mortgage, housing costs are somewhat more predictable. Whereas with rental housing, you are always subject to the landlord increasing your rent from year to year. We at NeighborWorks Waco will continue to promote the benefits of homeownership as being in the best interests of a family’s most positive financial future.

NeighborWorks Waco has assisted over 3,200 families in achieving increasing equity in the homes they purchased with the assistance of our organization by over $325 million. Wealth creation is still very much alive today with proper financial planning that includes families purchasing a home for the first time. We are here to continue to assist in that strategic investment for families!

Roy Nash, President & CEO