70% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents are dissatisfied with the amount of affordable housing in their community. More than one-third of residents in the Mid-Hudson region rates the availability of affordable housing in their community as poor. Another 36% of residents in the region describe it as just fair.
Only 26% of residents in the Mid-Hudson region rate the amount of affordable housing in their community as at least good or better.
Frustration with the availability of affordable housing in the Mid-Hudson region is widespread. It cuts across residents’ income, age, education, and race or ethnic backgrounds.
In 2002, 60% of residents of the Mid-Hudson Valley were not satisfied with the availability of affordable housing in the region. In fact, the proportion of residents who are very dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing has increased by eleven percentage points, from 23% in 2002 to 34% today.
The greatest shift in opinion on this issue has occurred in Columbia County. Five years ago, 55% of county residents were dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing in their community. Today, the proportion of residents sharing this sentiment has spiked to 72%.
Lack of satisfaction with the amount of affordable housing, however, is not limited to Columbia County residents. At least two-thirds of residents in each Mid-Hudson Valley county, with the exception of Greene County, are dissatisfied with the availability of affordable housing. In Greene County, 61% of residents share this view.
Interestingly, this perception is shared by homeowners and renters alike. In their evaluations of the affordability of housing in the region, 70% of both homeowners and people who rent do not rate the availability of affordable housing in their community favorably.
There is one distinction though among people who rent. Renters who doubt they will ever own a home are even more dissatisfied with the affordability of housing in the region than renters who think there is a good possibility of future homeownership.
