City Takes Snapshot of Affordable Housing

Just over 18 percent of housing in St. Charles is considered affordable by state standards, a city report revealed.

During a Planning & Development Committee meeting earlier this week, City Planner Matthew O’Rourke provided council members with a snapshot of affordable housing in St. Charles. A 2003 Illinois law requires that 10 percent of housing in each municipality should be classified as affordable.

Affordable housing is defined by the Illinois Housing and Development Authority as housing that has a “sales or rental price within the means of a household that may occupy low-income housing.” In the case of a single-family home, housing that is within 80 percent of the area median income and for rental properties the target is 60 percent of median income. IHDA expects 30 percent of annual income to be spent on housing.

Average area income is $74,812 per household, with the 80 percent mark falling to $59,850. City data shows 958 households in St. Charles earn income in a range of $50,000-$59,850.

The median price for a single-family home in St. Charles is $225,000, down from $302,000 in 2006. The median home price in St. Charles increased 11.3 percent since 2000, but decreased 25.5 percent since 2006 with the downturn in the economy.

Using the IHDA formula, Housing costs for those at the 80 percent level is $17,955 per year, or $1,496 per month. City data places the costs of an affordable owner-occupied home at $187,450.

There are 9,604 owner-occupied units in St. Charles. City data places the number of affordable owner-occupied homes at 1,253.

There are 4,297 rental units in St. Charles with 1,251, or 29.11 percent, classified as affordable.

Combined, St. Charles has a total of 2,504 housing units classified as affordable.

According to the 2006 United States Census, 40 percent of Kane County renters and 30.9 percent of homeowners pay over 35 percent of their monthly incomes on housing costs.