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Many Fairfax City residents said they experienced housing affordability challenges in the previous 12 months, according to a new report. FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Many City of Fairfax residents said they had faced affordable housing challenges over the previous year, according to the new Affordable Housing Strategic Plan.presented to the Fairfax City Council last Tuesday. In July 2024, the city hired consultant TPMA to develop a strategic planning process to addressing housing inequities in the city. since July 2024. The plan built on the Housing Assessment & Strategy Report, which TPMA presented to the city in 2023. One of the key finding from TPMA's research was that both renters and homeowners in the city said they had experienced affordability challenges over the previous 12 months. "A household is considered affordable when no more than 30 percent of a household's regular income is spent on housing," said Tiffany May, a strategy and consulting senior manager with TPMA. "Anything over 30 percent is a cost burden to the families." Of the 678 city residents who responded to a public survey, 49.50 percent of the renters and 13 percent of homeowners said they had experienced affordability challenges over the previous 12 months. One-quarter of the renters and more than half of the homeowners said they had lived in the city for more than 10 years. In addition, 16 percent of all respondents and almost half of the renters who took the survey said they expected to leave the city within the next three years due to housing costs. These expenses included a resident's mortgage or rent, as well as things like utilities and insurance. "Affordability is not just a challenge for potential new residents, people who might want to live in the City of Fairfax, it's a challenge for people who are living here right now," said Ashley Sharpley, a consultant with TMPA. "People who have lived here for a long time, who have potentially raised their kids here, who are looking to age in place here, they are facing significant affordability challenges with their housing." TPMA's study not only looked at affordability in terms of individual households but also the community's workforce. This included looking at the average wages of essential workers, such as teachers, healthcare professionals, and public safety personnel, as well as the median wages of the top industries in the city. "In the City of Fairfax, five of the 10 top industries, seven of the 10 top occupations, and many of those essential workers cannot afford, with 30 percent of their income, a one-bedroom apartment in the city," Sharpley said. "They need to be making at least, on a more conservative estimate, at least $52,000 a year." If a large portion of the city's workforce can't afford to live in the city, those workers must live elsewhere and commute to their jobs, according to Sharpley. That means more traffic and a greater burden on the city's infrastructure. Read the full text of the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan "Many of these essential workers can't afford rents in Fairfax," she said. "You're risking that local workforce, and you're risking out-migration. As transportation and additional costs also continue to rise, those things can end up pushing people out of communities." Median sale prices for homes in the city have increased rapidly in recent years, according to TPMA's findings. The median home sale price is 50 percent higher than it was in 2018. TPMA's strategic plan was built around three primary goals and made recommendations on how the city could best achieve them. 1. Increase Affordable Housing Development 1.1 - Leverage existing land and public land for affordable and workforce housing opportunities 1.2 - Streamline permitting andapproval processes for affordable and workforce housing development 1.3 - Align economic growth with affordable housing and mixed-use development policies 1.4 Secure funding for affordable and workforce housing development 2. Preserve Existing Affordable Housing 2.1 - Proactively identify and monitor at-risk NOAH properties 2.2 - Utilize policy and regulatory tools to support long-term affordability 2.3 - Develop financial incentives for NOAH property owners 2.4 - Secu re funding for affordable housing preservation 3. Strengthen Community Services Programs 3.1 - Improve tenant protections and support services to prevent displacement 3.2 - Expand affordable housing options to foster inclusive communities 3.3 - Strengthen data collection to improve programs and services 3.4 - Enhance community engagement and education "Definitely some exciting things in here," said Council member Anthony Amos, who lives in the Layton Hall Apartment Complex, which is one of the city's Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing communities. "That's something that's of great interest to me in preserving that property so it doesn't become a million dollar, something, something down the line. It should remain fully affordable stock."
