Affordable Housing in New Jersey: An Introduction
Affordable housing is a reasonable housing affordable to individuals and families earning less than 80% of the area of median income and paying no more than 30% of their income for housing. Normally called low or low and moderate income housing, affordable housing is developed in the United States by the public, private, and nonprofit sectors using various techniques and funding sources to close the gap between the cost of housing and the financial resources of these two-fifths of American households.
The strategy of Affordable Housing is to provide adequate housing at a affordable cost through public/private partnerships that create and maintain a extensive choice of attractive, affordable, economically designed housing, particularly for those most in need. Create and maintain housing in the Metropolitan and Suburban Planning Areas and in Centers in the Fringe, Rural and Environmentally Sensitive Planning Areas, at densities which support transportation and reduce traveling time and costs, and at locations easily accessible, preferably on foot, to employment, retail, services, cultural, civic and recreational opportunities. Support regional and community-based housing initiatives and remove unnecessary regulatory and financial barriers to the delivery of housing at appropriate locations.
Housing in New Jersey is as diverse in character, cost and locational environment as anywhere in the nation. Nevertheless, the housing market contains significant disparities, and providing equal and adequate housing opportunities poses a significant challenge to the state. While the average value of housing in the 10 wealthiest towns is $489,000, according to the 1990 U.S. Census, in America’s 10 poorest, it was only $44,970. Just about one third of New Jersey households are cost burdened and/or live in congested and poor housing. Housing prices are on average 45% above the national average, though comparable to costs in some counties of neighboring New York and Pennsylvania............
