Real estate pricing records are broken almost every month. In
Morgan Hill, the median resale price of a home was in April was
$865,000, almost $100,000 more than in March, but not much more
than January
’s median price of $848,000.
Real estate pricing records are broken almost every month. In Morgan Hill, the median resale price of a home was in April was $865,000, almost $100,000 more than in March, but not much more than January’s median price of $848,000.
Countywide, the median home price reached $619,000 in April, up nearly 18 percent from April 2004. Morgan Hill prices are 33.3 percent higher than a year ago.
There is a growing need in this community for “affordable housing.” It’s been that way for the past decade plus, and there are no signs the situation is going to change in the foreseeable future.
All but a handful of city and school district employees do not have the income to qualify for a loan to buy that $865,000 home. The same is true for most of the local residents who work in the private sector here or commute to jobs in the greater Silicon Valley. It’s a situation that is much the same throughout the nine-county Bay Area as well as much of California.
In Morgan Hill, there is one “affordable” project coming up that targets teachers, school district employees, city employees or police officers. It is a joint project between the city and South County Housing, a nonprofit agency with a laudable record for providing affordable housing.
Earlier this month 155 hopeful homeowners signed up for a lottery for 23 units, the 10 at teacher/city employee specific Viale, at Watsonville and Calle Sueno, and 13 at Morgan Station across from Britton Middle School.
Hundreds of school employees and others – anyone could apply – signed up for pre-lottery meetings, some for teachers, others were general meetings open to all. Sales prices range from $250,000 to $565,000, with mortgages expected to be from $136,000 to $500,000 depending on the buyer’s income, down payment and ability to qualify for subsidy financing.
However, to establish a separate class of workers – even if it for school teachers and city workers – is wrong. Such a program is inequitable.
We don’t like separating people into categories based on their employer – public agencies. We’re not sure it’s fair, right or legal to help fund the housing purchases of teachers, city planners, police officers or firefighters in a way that is not available to janitors, store clerks and gardeners, for example, who happen to work for private employers.
We understand that it’s beneficial to the city and the school district if public employees live in the communities they serve. The shortened commute of working and living in the same community can improve employee morale. The problem is this: Both concepts apply equally to private sector employees.
We believe that any housing assistance offered by the City of Morgan Hill should be based on household size and income, not on job description or employer.
Offering home-purchase assistance for public employees should be accomplished through the collective bargaining process.
The city also has a below market rate home program with a waiting list. These are usually duet homes – a sort of duplex – numbering 20 percent of new home developments. The homes fit in with the neighborhood but can have a different quality of countertops and cabinets than the full price, market rate units.
The 20 percent is a requirement of Measure C, the city’s voter-approved residential growth ordinance that limits residential building to approximately 250 units a year. There are restrictions on resale of the below-market rate units in order to keep the homes “affordable.”
The city’s BMR program in which everyone at certain income levels is eligible is a more fair way to go.
Besides the BMR program, the city has partnered frequently with South County Housing and other agencies to build several low and very low income projects that anyone meeting income requirements can apply for. Terracina, Murphy Ranch and the new Jasmine Square are just three.
