North Shore Housing Trust Newsletter
New Poll Shows Housing Number One Concern Among Essex County Residents
CHAPA/UMass Poll Shows Housing Costs a Concern for Nearly 80 Percent of Essex County Residents. Majority Express Support for More Affordable Housing
February 9, 2006
Essex County—According to a poll released by the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), nearly 80 percent of Essex County residents see housing costs as a top concern, with the issue rated alongside education and access to healthcare. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute recently conducted the public opinion poll on behalf of the non-profit organization CHAPA. The poll includes a sampling of more than 450 residents in Essex County.
The report found that nearly 80 percent of Essex County residents site housing costs as a major concern and 44 percent indicated that their monthly housing payment makes it "hard to make ends meet." Approximately 43 percent reported that they or members of their immediate family "have seriously considered moving out of Massachusetts because of the cost of housing." Given the reliance of the Northeast regional economy on the presence of highly-skilled workers to attract and retain growing industries, rising housing costs are clearly a major threat to regional economic competitiveness.
"This poll clearly demonstrates that housing costs are a major burden for Essex County residents," said Michael Goodman, Director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. "Affordable Housing is statistically even with Health Care and Public Education as the issues of greatest concern to Essex County residents." Goodman added.
According to the poll, attracting and retaining young educated professionals is also a major concern in Essex County with respect to housing costs. More than 83 percent agreed that the cost of housing is preventing young families from living and working in the towns they grew up in. Residents feel that the high cost of housing is forcing older residents to leave their towns with nearly 3 out of 4 respondents agreeing that the cost of housing is preventing elderly residents from continuing to live in their town.
"It is clear that housing costs will have a strong impact on the future of Essex County and the character of the region," said the North Shore Housing Trust's Executive Director Jennifer M. Raitt. "The poll disproves the negative affordable housing stereotypes and emphasizes the desire to build more housing that is affordable for young professionals, families, and seniors alike."
The poll's respondents showed positive attitudes toward the production of new housing. Nearly 6 in 10 of those polled in Essex County said that they would support building more affordable housing in their neighborhood. In addition, over 65 percent in Essex County disagreed that new affordable housing would change the character of their town.
To address this issue, in late 2005, CHAPA and the North Shore Housing Trust, Inc. launched the home@last campaign in Essex County. The campaign uses grassroots meetings, community outreach and advertising to support the production of more affordable housing. CHAPA's goal in this effort is to support the creation of more affordable housing in the region. For more information about the campaign, please visit www.chapa.org/home-at-last.
The housing poll was conducted during the first two weeks of November 2005. The poll surveyed the views of 512 residents statewide and 454 residents in Essex County. Respondents were interviewed by telephone through a standard process of random-digit dialing. Due to the size of the sample for this poll, the margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percent for the statewide sample and plus or minus 4.7 percent for the Essex County sample.
The University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute is the public service, outreach and economic development unit of the University of Massachusetts President's Office. Established in 1971, the Institute strives to connect the Commonwealth with the resources of the University, bridging theory and innovation with real world public and private sector applications.
Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) is the non-profit umbrella organization for affordable housing and community development activities throughout Massachusetts. Established in 1967, CHAPA is the only statewide group which represents all interests in the housing field, including non-profit and for-profit developers, homeowners, tenants, bankers, real estate brokers, property managers, government officials, and others. CHAPA's mission is to encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable to low-income families and individuals.