Housing remains largely unaffordable throughout region

Their report also found that single adults who are working 40 hours a week on average wages cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in any of the nine surveyed counties, including Sullivan.”

HUDSON VALLEY  — The Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress released their annual Out of Reach Report Tuesday morning.

This report is to update county-by-county data on housing affordability, rent, wages, as well as homeownership gaps to name a few.

This report covered all nine counties throughout the Hudson Valley, including Sullivan.

Of particular note is homeownership. The report states that more working families are relying on public assistance and living in hotels in recent years.

“The housing stress afflicting our region is getting worse, and the ramifications for our regional workforce are pretty huge,” said Pattern for Progress President Adam Bosch. “Housing needs to be the top item on our civic to-do list in the Hudson Valley if we hope to maintain our vibrancy, viability, and quality of life.”

In their report, they demonstrated the degree to which homeownership was out of reach.

This was done by calculating the Homeownership Gap based on the estimated mortgage for which households earning Area Median Income [AMI] would earn in each county.

Their report also found that single adults who are working 40 hours a week on average wages cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment in any of the nine surveyed counties, including Sullivan. The Tenants’ wages would have to increase between $2.50 and $31.67 to afford fair-market rents in their respective counties.

For those seeking a two-bedroom apartment, this outlook remained slim. With households that includes two earners who are making average wages the rent continues to be unaffordable for Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Ulster Counties.

It was also found that in each county, the average renter’s wages varied from 34 percent to 51 percent of the region median income, which is an important measure for housing laws and initiatives. 

The typical renter in 2023 made between 39 percent and 61 percent of the local median income. This shift highlights the fact that although renter earnings are static, higher income groups are experiencing faster wage increases. 

As working-class families leave the area and have fewer children, the housing affordability crisis has also made the Hudson Valley’s labor deficit worse. 

According to the Internal Revenue Service’s most recent migration data, the Hudson Valley saw a net out-migration of 12,257 individuals in 2021—the highest amount since 2005. 

Also, according to official data, the region has lost 146,763 individuals overall over the previous 26 years as a result of migration, losing more people than it has gained. Compared to the highest enrollment in 2003, there were 47,865 fewer pupils attending public schools in the Hudson Valley in 2022–2023.

Workforce in the region is expected to continue declining over the next ten years, especially as a growing proportion of Baby Boomer workers retire, according to data on migration and school enrollment. Out of Reach 2024 highlights the forces of rising housing costs and stagnant income, which are linked to and partially responsible for these difficult trends.

What is Pattern 

for Progress?

The nonprofit group called Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress offers unbiased planning, research, and instructional training all over the region. 

Through identifying public issues and advocating for equitable, sustainable, and regional solutions, their work continuously raises the standard of living in Hudson Valley towns. 

Without any political ties or goals, Pattern bases the development of its work on a substantial body of knowledge and experience. 

The leaders of the charitable, corporate, and academic sectors in the area created Pattern in 1965. Housing, community and urban planning, downtown revitalization, transportation, infrastructure, demographic shifts, and other related topics are the main topics of their work. 

The counties they service  are Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties. You can find out more info about their report and work at Pattern-For-Progress.org.

You can also follow @PatternForProgress on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X @HVPattern.