The Westerly Sun: Demographics foretell worsening squeeze on region's housing

The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments recommended in a report Thursday that area communities increase their capacity for lower-cost, multifamily housing.

The report, a 2018 housing needs assessment, was prepared for the Southeastern Connecticut Housing Alliance, an affordable housing advocacy group based in Norwich.

The number of households in the region was projected to increase by 7,200, or 6.3 percent, between 2015 and 2030, according to the Connecticut State Data Center. From 2015 to 2030, the nearly 23,000 new households headed by younger people will be offset by the loss of only 18,000 households headed by people over 65 who are simply staying in their own homes.

The number of renters who are cost-burdened (meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing), has grown from 32 percent in 2000 to 48 percent in 2015. Cost-burdened homeowners also increased from 25 percent to 30 percent during that period.

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Courtesy of The Westerly Sun