In a domino effect, the lack of affordable, adequate housing in the New River Valley keeps people from moving here.
Without housing, companies are hesitant to move here because they cannot attract new skilled people in a region where unemployment is 3.3 percent.
It appears that a lack of inventory is driving up prices and hampering economic development, but the situation is more nuanced.
“Rather than ‘affordable’ housing, housing ‘mismatch’ is the word to use,” Kevin Baird, executive director of the New River Valley Regional Commission, said. “It would be a mismatch between household income and supplies that exists, or a mismatch between the type of house people want to have and what’s available.
“Being able to age in place, for example, as our population ages, do we have enough single-story homes for aging in place?”
To explore the multiple aspects of housing mismatch—price, life-style, location —in the region, the NRVRC has launched a survey asking residents to provide information about their home-buying or renting experiences and housing preferences.
The survey will collect regional and local data to understand whether the region has the right supply of housing, another potential for mismatch between amenities desired by new buyers and those supplied by older houses.
“Our region has an older housing stock. How do our communities support renovation?” Baird said. “Energy efficiency is part of it, but so are appliances and features like closets. And are they wired correctly for modern internet?”
There are a whole host of aspects that are needed to bring a house up to modern expectations Baird said.
With survey data, the organization will write a report for local governments guiding local housing strategies and future development.
“Every community will come up with their own strategies to address their specific housing needs, which may range from a limited supply, a mismatch in some areas of housing types, or even a need to rehabilitate homes in other regions,” he said.
The survey can be taken at www.surveymonkey.com/r/nrvhousingstudy. For further information, contact Jennifer Wilsie (jwilsie@nrvrc.org), 540-639-9313, ext. 206.