It is no secret that starting salaries for employees in our area rarely reflect the real cost of housing.
Sandy: Hello, Tom. I am really excited about this column and the opportunity to tell our readers about our great “first step” meeting about addressing attainable housing along with Yavapai College.
Tom: That was a great gathering a few weeks back, for sure. YC representatives and a group of local contractors, engineers and even a couple of us retired guys showed up to listen and provide input.
Sandy: Yavapai College reached out to YCCA and was very clear about what the goal is. It is no secret that starting salaries for employees in our area rarely reflect the real cost of housing. There is a disconnect here that needs to be addressed and Yavapai College outlined some of the components they might bring to the table.
Tom: Components that are necessary pieces to a potential solution of a very complex problem. The rising cost of building does not come as a shock to anyone. As you also mentioned, it is difficult for many to be able to afford to become a homeowner.
Sandy: In order for ANY area employer to attract a workforce, decent housing must be available and attainable. We have great homes in our area, the issue is their cost versus starting salaries for teachers, first responders and entry level workers across the board.
Tom: The conundrum we face is we know the cost of building is not likely to drop any significant level soon, and area employers, particularly governmental and quasi-governmental, simply do not have the means at their disposal to increase baseline pay. Yavapai College is no exception.
Sandy: Yavapai College realizes that and that is what is motivating them to reach out to our industry in hopes of creating some type of partnership to address this perplexing issue. Technologies are being developed that may help at some point. But as of now, our partnership is not sufficiently advanced to create a solution.
Tom: For the benefit of our readers, technologies we are referring to include such processes as 3D printing, a systems approach in which building components are manufactured and transported to the site where they can be assembled quickly, reducing labor costs and some materials costs as well. Yavapai College’s CTECH program is working to develop 3D printing, as well as training the next generation of construction workers.
Sandy: They are doing a good job of it, as well. However, building components are, while a major contributor to cost, not the only piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed. The land plays a large role in establishing the cost of housing. Land prices and preparation of the land for building contribute significantly to housing costs.
Tom: Our area has challenges with land, as well. The mountainous terrain, rock and expansive (read: high clay content) soils are not the easiest to prepare for a building.
Sandy: Yavapai College brings to the table some land they own or control that can be used to build housing on. That alone will contribute to reducing costs. Also, their status as a quasi-governmental agency allows them to circumvent impact fees and most permitting fees if they demonstrate their ownership, benefit and participation in the building process.
Tom: No question that bringing those to the table will make a significant impact.
Sandy: The college reached out to us primarily because they do not want to be in the building business and are looking for a way forward to addressing the affordability of housing.
Tom: With the contractors, designers, architects and engineers that are a part of YCCA, there really has to be some way we can collectively be successful.
Sandy: With so many facets of the issue, we all need to give considerable thought as to how that might work. Questions about the type of housing such as single-family detached, single-family attached, multi-story, and even condominium or townhouse all need to be considered as viable housing.
Tom: Construction types also need to be considered. The college can contribute through their construction technology program to some degree, and we need to look at everything from container housing to 3D printed housing, right along with more conventional methods.
Sandy: Clearly an outside-the-box approach is in the making. Integrating several different stand-alone approaches may generate some successes. The demand for attainable housing is so great that a one at a time path won’t cut it.
Sandy: The City of Prescott recently did a survey of needed housing across several parties including school districts, colleges, public safety agencies among them and found that the current need in the Quad Cities area exceeded 700 homes alone for the workforce.
Tom: That is a surprisingly high number, but I sure don’t doubt it. Prescott Unified and Chino Valley school districts have begun to implement their own housing programs designed to provide homes for teachers and including a portion of the housing they build for first responders such as firefighters and police officers. This is a great step forward, and as you said earlier, Sandy, the demand is such that a larger-scale solution really needs to be looked at.
Sandy: Another aspect of the attainability conundrum is the resale of the home. The first owners can get in, and as the market appreciates and they are able to move up, what the initially affordable home can be sold for is no longer affordable.
Tom: A market-driven approach to resale may need to be looked at. I believe Yavapai College with their quasi-governmental status can retain some resale rights when the home is on the land they own.
Sandy: The college representatives seemed open to the possibility of the college retaining land ownership while the building is owned privately, coupled with the potential for the college to have first rights to purchase the home within certain parameters where the owner achieves a reasonable profit, and the home retains its affordability.
Tom: This is clearly a knurly topic that needs considerable thought and planning to make it happen.
Sandy: Having only this first meeting to go by, I believe we have commitment from the college and several of our members to move this forward and study hard to obtain real solutions.
Sandy: Tom, we will certainly keep our community informed as to the process of moving this gigantic mountain. With the willingness of industry and our partners, public and private we should be able to make a difference.
Tom: Sandy, I totally agree. I thought we would close with sharing housing terminology, for our readers to better understand the words attainable, affordable and workforce.
Households earning 80% or less of area median income – AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Housing where household pays no more than 30% of monthly income for housing costs – AFFORDABLE DWELLING
Households paying more than 30% of monthly income toward housing costs – COST BURDENED
Affordable to households earning 80% to 120% of area median income – WORKFORCE HOUSING
The median income for all occupations Feb 2020 to Jan 2023 was $55.4K
Thanks for stopping in and reading “At Home with Tom and Sandy.” You’re in good company and we love sharing educational, fun and important information with you. QCBN
Tom Reilly, architect.
Sandy Griffis, executive director, Yavapai County Contractors Association 928-778-0040.
Remember to tune in to YCCA’s Hammer Time every Saturday and Sunday morning 7 am on KQNA 1130 am/99.9 fm/95/5fm or the web kqna.com. Listen to Sandy and her wingman Mike talk about the construction industry and meet your local community partners. Hammer Time is a great way to start your weekend.
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