Bay Area Displays $ 117,400 as "Low Income" for Affordable Housing



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The "low" income level required to qualify for some affordable housing programs in the Bay Area is $ 117,400 per year per household.

The latest figure from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for "low income" levels has drawn the attention of people who say they have difficulty finding affordable housing despite six-figure wages. Marin Independent Journal first reported. The federal agency has raised the "low" annual income threshold by 10% from last year, which represents $ 117,400 per year for a four-person household.

RTR1XG40 The "low" income level required to qualify for some affordable housing programs in the Bay Area is $ 117,400 per year per household. Reuters | Robert Galbraith

Households in the counties of San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo feature in the "extremely low income" where they earn $ 44,000 and "very low" they earn $ 73,300 each year. HUD's recent 2018 boundary has upset not-for-profit organizations for affordable housing and residents who earn a reasonable income compared to the rest of the country. The median family income in the three counties of the Bay Area is $ 118,400. Several other municipalities in the Bay Area, including Alameda County and Contra Costa County, see financial thresholds where $ 80,400 for a family of four is considered low income, according to HUD data from 2017. In Santa Clara County, $ 84,750 is considered the low-income cutoff for a family of four.

Earlier this year, a partially burned and dilapidated home in the Willow Glen community of San Jose was put on the market for $ 800,000.

The Bay Area has led the country in housing prices while simultaneously facing a dramatic shortage of affordable housing. The HUD income limits in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties are lower than in other urban areas of the United States. In Los Angeles, the low-income threshold of HUD for a household of four is $ 77,500 and in New York, a city long considered the most expensive city in the country, its low income threshold is $ 83,450.

Jesus Galindo, a Lincoln Elementary teacher who earns about $ 60,000 a year, told Annie Sciacca, a Bay Area News Group reporter, that he spent about a third of his monthly income at home, but his parents did not could no longer live in the Bay Area. .

"For someone who loves the Bay Area, and who loves Richmond, it breaks my heart," said Galindo. "Raising a family in the Bay Area is very expensive," said Galindo, whose partner is also a local teacher. "Even though I own my house, babysitting is expensive, the cost of food is expensive."

Michael Santero, director of asset management for San Jose's First Community Housing, said Marin Independent Journal Waiting lists for affordable housing often last for years and people rarely leave homes once acquired. "Very low income" families are defined by the HUD as those whose income does not exceed 50% of the median, but high-cost regions, such as the Bay Area, are often well above 60 or 90% .

"The market will never produce houses for people at this [median] level, "said Amie Fishman, executive director of the Northern California Non Profit Housing Association. "The market is producing housing for those who are at the top." This demonstrates how broken and unsustainable our housing market is. More and more people are unable to afford housing. "

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