Arizona Daily Star

Let's help working families buy homes

By Michael McDonald and Terry Galligan
September 14, 2006

Many people in Tucson were dismayed to hear that we have something in common with San Francisco, Boston, New York and Honolulu. Forbes magazine named Tucson one of the 10 most overpriced places in the United States. The main culprit for our inclusion on the list was the skyrocketing cost of housing. Forbes called Tucson, a "surprise newcomer" to the list.

Is it really a surprise? According to the working families that we talk to every day, it is not.

The reality is that Tucson's working families have been priced out of the dream of owning a home over the last few years. The median price of a new home in Tucson is $248,600. Salaries have not kept pace with the cost of housing, and according to the Arizona Daily Star the housing affordability index dropped from 70.7 to 36.1 in a little over two years. As prices for new and existing homes have shot up, thousands of families have been shut out of the housing market.

We are writing to declare that it is official: Tucson has an affordable-housing crisis. The alarm bell should be ringing for everyone who is concerned about the future of Tucson. Work-force housing is a key component to the future of Tucson and Pima County.

As advocates for working families and builders of new homes, we want the entire community to recognize that the only solution to the crisis is a broad-based and multi-faceted approach from all community stakeholders, including private businesses, government, nonprofits and working families.

First, working families must take responsibility for their future by saving money. There are many programs to help, including savings accounts that are matched $3 for every $1 that the family saves.

Second, private businesses can help by setting up employer assistance programs, in which employers help their employees with matching funds or directly contribute funds for the down payment on a home. Tucson Medical Center has an employer assistance program that helps its employees purchase Habitat for Humanity homes.

Third, local governments have an important role to play. The city of Tucson and Pima County are setting up Housing Trust Funds, in which a dedicated source of funds will be used to assist working families purchase a home. The city and county also receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that is used for the construction of work-force housing.

Lastly, nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity and the Old Pueblo Community Foundation provide home-buyer education, credit counseling and other important services to help families prepare for home ownership. Habitat and Old Pueblo also partner with private businesses, community and religious organizations, and the city and county governments to build new houses and to provide down-payment and closing-cost assistance.

The future of work-force housing in Tucson will have to be housing that is subsidized. There is indeed an affordable-housing crisis in Tucson that undermines our community's economic development and quality of life; but if we all pull together, working families can and will achieve the American dream of home ownership.

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