Apartment Look

As the housing crisis has grown across California, the state has seen a rise in the number of “super commuters,” residents who commute longer hours to cities starved of affordable housing, including those in the Bay Area. While the number of jobs brought into the Bay Area has grown in recent years, the availability of housing has not matched this increase, according to State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. People working in service-type jobs are not being paid wages that would allow them to afford housing in the cities where they are employed, forcing many to make long commutes to and from work each day, Skinner said. “Those are essential services, but then they’re driven out to living further and further away just to be able to afford somewhere to live,” Skinner said. Census data from 2015 reported San Francisco , Alameda and Contra Costa counties’ average commute times to be 31.7 minutes, 30.7 minutes and 35.3 minutes respectively — an increase from 2010, when the commute times for...

The massive new social and affordable housing renewal development just given the go-ahead by the NSW Government in Sydney’s north has been greeted with cautious approval by experts. But while it’s been hailed as “ground-breaking” by some, with plans for similar scale projects at four other major sites, others have said it still is a long way off solving housing affordability for many Sydneysiders. “Of course, the provision of this new affordable housing is always good, but it’s still just a drop in the ocean,” says Associate Professor Eileen Webb , of the Curtin Law School , who’s been studying the lack of housing. Ivanhoe estate ." /> An artist’s impression of Ivanhoe estate . Photo: Supplied “As we’ve seen in Martin Place recently , there are many people homeless, with the 2011 Census putting the figure very conservatively at 105,000. We’ve also had reports that a further one in 10 Australian households are in housing stress and at risk of homelessness, which is 850,000...

Frasers Property Australia , Citta Property Group and Mission Australia have won the tender for the $2. 2 billion redevelopment of the Ivanhoe public housing estate in Macquarie Park, in north-east Sydney. The project is set to achieve high sustainability outcomes , such as carbon neutral operation , but while the news has been welcomed by many in the property industry , it has also raised questions about just how replicable this model of public housing funding is. The master plan for the 8.2 hectare site will see 259 existing low - density public housing dwellings demolished and replaced with more than 3000 dwellings built by the Aspire consortium, including at least 950 new social housing apartments and 128 affordable rental apartments . A non-government co- educational vertical high school , two 75- place childcare centres , a 120- bed aged care facility , 141 social housing independent living units and 132 private independent living units are also in the plans. Community f...

Heather Smith says affordable housing isn 't always affordable. The single mother of two said when her $880-per-month rent in southeast Rochester jumped by $85 in the second year, it left her struggling to pay for rent and food, even though she has good job at Zumbro Valley Health Center . "Why am I not able to afford the basics I need to live?" she asked during Tuesday's community meeting held by CURE — Communities United for Rochester's Empowerment — a social action group affiliated with SEIU Healthcare. She said the unexpected increase on an already tight budget could have been unbearable without outside family support. "I got a 46-cent raise at work," she said, noting it didn't cover the rent increase, or her rising food costs . "How am I supposed to save for a house?" she said. Homeownership, said Zach Winter, doesn't necessarily solve the problem of a tight budget. He said he bought a house near Silver Lake, which ...

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ booming economy is bringing with it a downside for those looking to rent an apartment or buy a home in the state: soaring housing costs , particularly in the greater Boston area . The problem isn’t new, but it’s more acute in places where the economy has taken off, spurred by a surge in the life sciences sector and the arrival of top companies like General Electric to the state. That upward pressure is one reason why Beacon Hill leaders are continuing to look for ways to create new affordable housing units while preserving existing units . Gov. Charlie Baker this week announced $72 million in housing subsidy funds and additional state and federal tax credits to 25 projects across the state. The goal is to help create, refurbish and preserve 1, 970 housing units , including units reserved for low- income families and families making their way out of homelessness. Advertisement “Safe and affordable housing is a cornerstone to the success of our commo...

The Bay State’s booming economy is bringing with it a downside for those looking to rent an apartment or buy a home in the state: soaring housing costs , particularly in Greater Boston. The problem isn’t new, but it’s more acute in places where the economy has taken off, spurred by a surge in the life sciences sector and the arrival of top companies like General Electric. That upward pressure is one reason why Beacon Hill leaders are continuing to look for ways to create new affordable housing units while preserving existing units . Gov. Charlie Baker this week announced $72 million in housing subsidy funds and additional state and federal tax credits to 25 projects across the state. The goal is to help create, refurbish and preserve 1, 970 housing units , including units reserved for low- income families and families making their way out of homelessness. “Safe and affordable housing is a cornerstone to the success of our commonwealth’s families, including access to job opportu...

Council Member Laurie Cumbo (@cmlauriecumbo) Hundreds of Crown Heights residents and community activists laughed and jeered at a recent community forum as a lanky man wearing a paper mask of Mayor Bill de Blasio joked about bringing affordable housing to their neighborhood. The event was punctuated by moments of levity but mostly dominated by anger from residents who feel their elected representatives have sold out their interests to the real estate industry , with a focus on the proposed redevelopment of the vacant Bedford Union Armory . The de Blasio administration , with a developer, is proposing a combination of affordable and market rate rental apartments , condominium units, and recreation space for the massive site. City Council Member Laurie Cumbo , who represents the district, did not attend the August 2 forum focused on the project -- she was just days from giving birth to a son -- and when representatives of her office tried to speak, they were shouted down. The ev...

To Alice Fonseca, getting an apartment at The Beverly building downtown would be like winning the lottery. The 14-story project, set to open near North Station early next year, isn’t quite like all the other luxury housing that has sprouted up in downtown Boston recently . Every one of its 249 units will rent at below-market rates, with a one-bedroom starting at $900 a month for tenants of modest incomes. That’s about a third to half the cost of a similar unit just across the street. Advertisement “It’s a beautiful area , a dream area,” said Fonseca, who currently lives near Franklin Park, and will enter a lottery later this year that will choose The Beverly’s tenants. Instead of the usual mix of a few low- income units amid high -priced apartments, The Beverly is the first new complex in Boston composed entirely of “workforce housing,” an emerging category of midpriced housing with more affordable rents and wider income restrictions . The Beverly is setting aside 20 percent of its...