Assessing Housing Affordability in New York State: Implications for Sustainability

Abstract

The need for affordable housing includes not only low-income but also middle-income populations and cuts across ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes. This research is about the state of the housing market in New York State and focuses on affordability issues confronting middle-income families. Taking a long-term view from 2000 to 2021, this study analyzes housing affordability trend and its driving factors. Adopting summary statistics as methods of analysis, the study considers the extent of housing cost burdens faced by middle-income earners when compared to their income levels. The findings reveal significant challenges, with many families spending over 300% of their income on housing costs. The mean housing cost-to-income ratio for the study period was approximately 380%, suggesting a consistent burden on middle-income families statewide. This is a sustainability issue because housing unaffordability pushes people to move from climate stable areas to climate unstable areas. The fact that individuals and families are willing to risk moving to a climate unstable area because of housing cost should be a motivation for government incentives and interventions through evidence-based policies.