City Council Agenda and Packet 2023 09 26 SP

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Housing Affordability Recent home sale prices are out of reach for the majority of Louisville households. ■ A household would need to earn around 145% of the MFI, or around $209,000 to afford the average home sales price in Louisville. Only 26% of Louisville households earn more than $200,000 annually, suggesting at least 74% of Louisville households would not be able to afford the current average home sales price, with a much greater affordability gap for Louisville renters. The rates of cost -burdened households in Louisville decreased over the last decade, but it is likely due to fewer lower -income households living in the city. Around 41% of Louisville renters and 16% of Louisville homeowners currently spend more than 30% of household income on housing expenses. ■ Given the dramatic increase in housing costs over the past decade, it is likely because households that were cost -burdened (especially severely cost burdened) in 2011 were eventually priced out of the area and moved to areas with a lower cost of living and higher -earning households have moved into the area. 1. Introduction In 2021, the City of Louisville was awarded a grant through the HB 21-1271 Innovative Affordable Housing Strategies program by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. However, the project was delayed due to the devastating Marshall Fire that occurred in late December 2021. The City has allocated the funding to develop a housing plan, which will play a crucial role in updating the City's Comprehensive Plan and provide context for its Land Use Element during the upcoming comprehensive plan update. The approach for developing a housing plan begins with a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) which evaluates the current and projected housing needs by conducting a thorough analysis of the City's demographic and housing market trends. With a countywide objective of achieving a 12% permanently affordable housing stock, an ongoing disaster recovery, and an impending comprehensive plan update, the findings of this Housing Needs Assessment will play a pivotal role in informing crucial land use and housing policy decisions that will shape Louisville's future. Data Collection & Methodology In this assessment we drew from a variety of data sources to compile a comprehensive understanding of Louisville's housing needs. One of the key sources for housing and household data is the US Census Bureau, specifically the 2021 American Community Survey 5-year ECONorthwest 14