Mid-Hudson Valley residents are concerned about the quality of affordable housing in the area. 34% of residents in the Mid-Hudson region are very dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing, and three in ten residents believe increasing the amount of affordable housing should be a top priority for their community.
In fact, a majority of Mid-Hudson Valley residents struggle to pay for the cost of housing. This includes nearly one-quarter of all residents who report their rent or mortgage payment causes a great deal of financial strain and another three in ten who say it causes a good deal of hardship.
At the county level, residents of Putnam County are more likely to feel the financial pressure from their monthly housing expenses than residents in the other six Mid-Hudson Valley counties. 60% of Putnam County residents say paying the rent or mortgage strains their family budget including 27% who report a great deal of stress on their household finances. About half of all residents in the other six Mid-Hudson Valley counties report feeling financial pressure from their monthly housing costs.
Most Mid-Hudson Valley residents regardless of income find the cost of their rent or mortgage to be a financial burden on their household budget. Ironically, 51% of residents with an annual income of less than $15,000 consider the cost of their rent or mortgage payment to be a financial strain on their household budget as does the same proportion of residents with a household income of $100,000 or more.
Not surprisingly though, the burden of paying for housing is felt most by people who have experienced other economic problems, as well. 75% of residents who have had difficulty paying for food, housing costs, utility bills, or medical treatment on at least one occasion in the past year experience considerable financial stress to pay for housing. 42% of these residents have a great deal of financial pressure when paying their rent or mortgage.
Households with children are particularly strained by the monthly cost of housing. 65% of residents who have children in their household say paying the rent or mortgage causes financial strain on their household budget compared with just 43% of residents from households without children.
Residents between the ages of thirty-one and forty-four are most squeezed by housing costs. Two-thirds of these residents are stressed financially by the cost of their rent or mortgage payment. This contrasts with residents over the age of sixty who are the least likely to be affected by these expenses. 25% of these residents report housing costs adversely affect their household budget.
There is also a difference among racial and ethnic groups. 66% of African Americans and 64% of Latino residents describe the monthly cost of housing as a financial strain on their family budget. This compares with 51% of white residents who experience this difficulty.
The cost of housing is a major burden for many residents throughout the Mid-Hudson region but it is more onerous for some than others. Rent and mortgage payments create great hardship particularly for residents who are the most financially pressured.
Paying for heat and electricity is a burden for many residents in the Mid-Hudson Valley. 63% of people in the region describe the cost of utilities as a strain on their household finances.
The financial stress for Mid-Hudson Valley residents over the cost of utilities is felt throughout the region. About two-thirds of residents in each county, except for Putnam, are financially strained by monthly utility costs. Residents of Columbia and Sullivan Counties are most likely to report utility costs stress their family budget. Nearly seven in ten residents in both counties report they feel financially strained by the cost of heat and electricity. Although a majority of residents in Putnam County are financially stressed by the cost of utilities, they are least likely among the seven counties in the region to be concerned.
The cost of heat and electricity is a considerable burden for many Mid-Hudson Valley residents particularly those residents who are struggling to make ends meet. The working poor that is residents who are employed and making less than $15,000 a year, residents in households with low income that is those making less than $30,000, households receiving public assistance, residents looking for work, and those residents that face financial hardship in other areas all are financially pressed by the cost of utilities.
71% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents are homeowners. Putnam County has the highest rate of homeownership in the Mid-Hudson region. 80% of Putnam County residents own their homes.
Homeownership rates are fairly consistent throughout the six other counties. About seven in ten residents in the region outside of Putnam County own their homes.
Understandably, homeowners generally have higher incomes than residents as a whole. They are also somewhat older than the average Mid-Hudson Valley resident, and they are more settled in their community. Residents who own their homes are more likely to have lived in the area for more than a decade, and they are less likely to intend to leave in the near future. They also are more likely to be registered to vote than the average resident.
Mortgage payments are a burdensome expense for many residents who own their home. 58% of homeowners with mortgages report these payments strain their monthly budget including 24% who describe it as a major financial hardship.
Nearly three in ten Mid-Hudson Valley residents rent their home or apartment. Putnam County, with the highest rate of homeownership, is home to the smallest proportion of renters, 20%. About 30% of residents in the other six counties of the Mid-Hudson region rent the place where they live.
Residents who rent are considerably more likely to be economically vulnerable than residents as a whole. On average, they have lower incomes. 46% of people who rent have a household income of less than $30,000 compared with 25% of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents.
Most renters have not received public assistance in the past year. However, as a group, they are more than twice as likely as Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole to have received public assistance in the past year. People who rent are also more likely to live in households in which at least one person is looking for work.
Most people who rent live paycheck to paycheck. About two-thirds of all renters anticipate they would be unable to pay their bills within three months if they were to lose their source of income. Renters also are more likely to have had problems paying for food, housing costs, utility bills, or medical treatment on at least one occasion in the past year.
People who rent generally are less connected to their community than Mid-Hudson Valley residents overall. Not surprisingly, renters are more likely to have moved to the area recently. 31% of people who rent have lived in the region five years or less compared with 21% of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents. Renters are also more likely than the average Mid-Hudson Valley resident to consider leaving the region.
Renters are less likely than the average Mid-Hudson Valley resident to be registered to vote. They are also not as likely, as a group, to be active in a civic organization, church, or club as Mid-Hudson Valley residents overall.
People who rent are younger than the average Mid-Hudson Valley resident. 54% of renters are under 35 years of age compared with 26% of all residents in the region.
While most residents who rent their homes are white, as a group, they are disproportionately more likely to be Latino or African American than Mid-Hudson Valley residents in general. 18% of renters are Latino and 11% are African American compared with 10% and 7% of the Mid-Hudson region, respectively.
People who rent are just as likely to live with children as Mid-Hudson Valley residents overall. However, renters are much more likely to be low income parents or single parents than Mid-Hudson Valley residents with children.
Paying rent is a major financial strain for many residents who rent their homes. 65% of renters find making their rent payment difficult including 31% who express it puts a great deal of financial strain on their monthly budget.
Renters divide when asked whether or not they are interested in buying a home. 49% express interest in homeownership someday. 51% do not.
At the county level, people who rent their home in Putnam County are most interested in buying a home. 63% of Putnam County residents who rent express an interest in homeownership. Residents in Greene County who rent are also more likely to want to buy a home than people who rent in the other five counties.
Renters in Sullivan County are the least likely to be interested in purchasing a future home. Only one-third of Sullivan County residents who rent express an interest in doing so.
Renters who would like to buy a home in the area someday are more likely than renters overall to be employed and to live in households in which two full time jobs are held. 80% of renters interested in buying a home are employed compared with 67% of renters overall. In addition, 36% of renters hoping to buy a home are in households with two full time jobs compared with 28% of renters as a whole.
Residents who rent but would like to buy a home are more likely to have children, particularly school age children, than the average renter. 58% of renters interested in buying a home have children compared with 49% of renters overall.
Renters interested in buying a home are more likely to intend to stay in the area than renters as a whole.
Although 57% of renters overall
feel priced out of homeownership, a majority of renters interested in buying a
home think it is an attainable goal. 55% of renters who want to buy a home believe it is likely they will be able to afford a home in the Mid-Hudson region. But, a considerable proportion, 45%, of renters interested in homeownership doubt they will be able to afford a home in the area.
If renters who are interested in purchasing a home cannot afford to buy one in the area, a majority of them, 53%, plan to move out of the region.
