#501: Housing Crisis in Ontario County

There's a housing crisis in the Finger Lakes.

For several years now homeownership rates have been in decline. This while the rate of rent burdened households, or those that spend 50% or more of their household income on rent, tick up at an alarming rate. It’s a combination with wide-reaching impacts on economic development, community sustainability, schools, and more.

Last year, the finishing touches were put on one of the most-comprehensive housing studies in Upstate New York. It was done in Ontario County, where working class housing -- the stuff that is vital in a tourism-centric economy -- has become scarcer and scarcer. But perhaps the most-notable finding was that despite what many have viewed as a surge in higher priced homes in Ontario County -- there’s a shortage of those, too.

What’s next? How does Ontario County plan to work with cities, towns, and villages to address the shortages in housing? This conversation is a first-of-several, which will feature officials from Ontario County’s ad-hoc committee on housing. Plus others as they begin a public outreach campaign to help communities better understand the challenges and what they can do.

Our guests this hour include Chris Debolt, Ontario County Administrator; Jim Yockel, CEO of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors and the chair of a new ad-hoc committee; and Ryan Davis, Director of Economic Development.