Myths/Facts >
MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS

• Affordable housing will drive down property values.
  

  Recent research funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation shows that affordable housing does not usually adversely impact the value of neighboring properties and may actually improve values in some cases. Key factors that are associated with stable or increasing property value are the same for both affordable and market-rate housing – an attractive design that blends with the surrounding neighborhood and strong property management. Especially in today’s real estate market, mixed income buildings can boost the residential real estate market in many areas by replacing the vacant and blighted buildings that keep real estate values low through programs like New York State Affordable Housing Corporation’s Neighborhood Stabilization initiative, in which vacant, foreclosed properties are renovated to provide affordable housing.

• Affordable housing will bring lots of large families to the comunity, thereby increasing the burden on schools and roads.
  

  Although not all multi-family rental units are affordable, they make up the bulk of affordable housing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, rental apartments have fewer children per unit on average than owner-occupied, single-family housing; rental apartments contain a lower percent of units with one or more school aged children; and rental units have a lower average number of motor vehicles per unit. Affordable housing helps reduce the number of cars on the road by allowing working people to live near their jobs. In addition, studies show that affordable housing residents own fewer cars and drive less often than residents of market-rate homes.

• Affordable housing will reduce the quality of local schools.
  

  In its research summary of the impacts of affordable housing on education, The Center for Housing Policy found that stable, affordable housing may reduce the frequency of unwanted moves that lead children to change schools and disrupt educational instruction. Affordable housing also helps schools attract and retain the best teachers. School districts across the country have developed innovative affordable housing programs that recognize that it is important for teachers to put down roots in the communities where they teach, and the federal government's “Teacher Next Door” program also helps teachers live in the school districts where they teach at a price they can afford.

• Affordable housing doesn't contribute to the local tax base and overburdens the local property tax system.
  

  The effective tax rate (property tax paid relative to the market value) for multi-family complexes is significantly higher than single-family homes. Thus, multi-family developments pay their “fair share” in local property taxes. Furthermore, multi-family housing offers greater efficiency in use of public services and infrastructure. Across Ulster and neighboring counties, towns with volunteer fire and ambulance crews have been facing pressure to hire salaried personnel as high housing costs force volunteers to move away. Affordable housing can help these communities retain their volunteers and thus keep public safety expenses down.

• Affordable housing will increase crime in the community and bring in undesirable residents.
  

  Affordable housing can help a community maintain a stable population by making it easier to retain people who already live and work there. There is no evidence that affordable housing brings crime to a neighborhood. In fact, well-designed affordable housing, with good lighting, landscaping and management, can actually help make an area less attractive to criminals. Whether a development will be an asset or a detriment to a community more often turns on basic management practices: careful screening, prudent security measures, and regular upkeep.

• Affordable housing represents just another government welfare hand-out.
  

  Wealthy homeowners benefit the most from federal housing subsidies. They receive a federal income tax deduction for mortgage interest paid, which is the largest housing subsidy program in the U.S., and a similar deduction for property taxes paid. In 2008, these subsidies cost the federal government $67 billion. Meanwhile, the entire budget for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was $37.6 billion.

• Affordable housing is not fair; only the very poor benefit.
  

  A lack of affordable housing negatively affects employers, seniors, poor people, immigrants, entry-level and service sector workers, and public sector professionals such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers. It also impinges on broader quality of life issues such as the economic development of the region, traffic congestion, commute times, and air quality. In short, it affects us all. Effectively solving the affordable housing crisis does not mean addressing the needs of just the poor; it also means addressing the needs of the business community, working- and middle-class families, and the broader population.