Preservation key to saving affordable housing
The U.S. housing stock is old and getting older and its deterioration is causing health, safety and financial concerns. Saving it is cheaper and more sustainable than building new. But preservation is still expensive. How do we preserve housing before more low-cost rental units are lost?
Cause for concern
U.S. homes are an average of 41 years old. The newest public housing units are 50 and the oldest are 90.
The most recent American Housing Survey finds 6.7 million households live in moderately or severely inadequate housing. In 2021, 7.5 percent of occupied homes had structural problems like big holes in the floor, cracks in ceilings or large areas of peeling paint.
Harvard researchers at the Joint Center for Housing Studies “link substandard housing to health problems, as well as to financial hardship, energy insecurity, disaster vulnerability, social isolation and neighborhood instability.” Their 2024 report reviews housing deterioration and repair programs, organizational challenges and makes recommendations for a revised national and local policy framework.
The research points out, “As lower-income renters are cost-burdened, many households may sacrifice housing quality to secure a unit at a lower rent,” and “Among homeowners and renters alike, Black and Hispanic households are disproportionately exposed to substandard housing.”
The average age of a Cincinnati home is 46 years old. That’s 17th in the nation. Here’s an interactive Cincinnati house age map.
Credit: City of Cincinnati
The average home in Cincinnati was built in 1979. Areas in green on the map are, on average, 15 years old or newer. Areas in the darkest red shades are, on average, 80 years old or older.
Executive Director of the Ohio CDC Association Torey Hollingsworth says, “1940 is usually sort of the dividing line between what is considered more modern housing and historic homes. And we have a lot of the homes that fit into that historic category, which often need pretty substantial repairs to continue to be habitable for people to live in.”
Of cities with the most homes built before 1940, Cincinnati is 8th. Forty percent of homes were built before 1940. Among smaller cities, Dayton is ranked seventh, with 37-percent of its housing stock built before 1940. Ohio is sixth in the nation for having the oldest homes.
Credit: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
The risk of losing affordable rentals
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the U.S. lost more than 3-million low-cost rental homes between 2012 and 2017. And the numbers continue to rise. Between 2019 and 2022 the U.S. lost another half million.
Many of these are old apartments. In a Brick by Brick Solutions Sidebar with Marjy Stagmeier, we reported most apartments are at least 44 years old, up from 34 years two decades ago, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The article says, “The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimated it would cost $51.5 billion (about $160 per person in the US) to address the repair needs of the occupied rental stock.”
Public housing units are falling into disrepair too. Since the mid-1990s, housing authorities have demolished more than 200,000 public housing units. They were deemed obsolete, partially because of deferred maintenance.
Research estimates the cost to build and maintain the number of new units equal to those projected to be lost from the federally assisted housing inventory over five years (2020-2025) would be $6.4 billion, compared to $4.8 billion to preserve and maintain them for fifty years.
Preservation is part of CMHA’s and GDPM’s plan
The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and Greater Dayton Premier Management (GDPM) recognize preservation is key.
CMHA has invested more than $200 million in its portfolio properties. As Brick by Brick’s Hernz Laguerre Jr. reports in the podcast, CMHA recently finished renovating two of its oldest buildings, San Marco and The Riverview House, in East Walnut Hills.
Also in its preservation plans are renovations in Anderson, Newtown and Mt. Washington.
Greater Dayton Premier Management has also been working on updating and replacing its outdated units through federal dollars and public private partnerships. It has submitted a five-year plan to HUD, spelling out redevelopment plans. The most recent completion is the renovation of 13 units in Hawthorn Village in West Dayton and 35 units in Wolf Creek in North Dayton. Desoto Bass, which like some other housing has become too hard to maintain, is being demolished. Initially replacing 50 of the units, will be the nearby Germantown Crossing.
Experts recognize the largest and most at-risk supply of affordable housing is what’s called naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). These aren’t subsidized by the government. McKinsey & Company says the cost of preserving an existing NOAH unit is a fraction of the cost of building new affordable-housing supply. But in many cases independent landlords don’t want to or can’t spend the money needed for preventative maintenance.
Credit: Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Dayton’s housing survey
Like so many other cities, Dayton is trying to save its affordable housing. More than 1,000 homes are set for demolition and another 5,000 are on the brink. A recent housing survey rated the exterior of every single Dayton home. A Building Survey Digital Dashboard lists the condition of Dayton homes. Ten percent need major repairs. Brick by Brick, with Housing Inspection Division Manager James McDaniel, drove to the border of Miami Chapel and Lakeview to get a better idea of how a street could be transformed. Here’s a link to the overall project.
McDaniel pointed to a boarded-up house. “When you look at this house and you’ll see that the gutters are falling down. You take a look at the porch, and we have some of the siding and everything coming down.”
This house was classified as a three out of five. Five being the worst. The goal is to fix up every house, some through legal action. But inspectors also have to recognize what can’t be preserved.
“We recently had a demolition of two properties in this location. You’ll see it was graded. They have some straw down. So, hopefully as the spring comes then we’ll start seeing grass.
Before they do anything, inspectors try to envision what effect a demolition will have on a neighborhood like this one.
McDaniel explains,” We actually take pictures of how the street will look and how the neighborhood will look without these properties.”
James McDaniel hopes somebody will build on the vacant lots. The Dayton housing survey, updated every two to three years, surprised some city leaders, by finding 75-percent of houses were in sound shape, receiving the highest rating.
Dayton has an innovative preservation program to help low-income residents. Brick by Brick’s Emiko Moore reports in the podcast about how the Dayton Home Repair Network is making a difference.
Cincinnati looks to save more houses
People Working Cooperatively, serving Southeast Indiana, Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio, receives funding from Cincinnati, area counties, the state and federal government and foundations to help homeowners who can’t afford them make repairs. Every year its skilled staff and volunteers are in 45 hundred homes, helping nearly 9 thousand people in Southwest Ohio. This translates into more than 8-thousand services annually for eligible homeowners, whose typical income is just 14-thousand dollars a year.
Just like Dayton and so many other cities, Cincinnati is trying to minimize the number of homes it has to demolish. It says over the last nine years there’s been a 53-percent reduction in the total number of buildings ordered to be vacated. Cincinnati wonders if this is a direct correlation to new and revamped city ordinances.
The Cincinnati Real Estate Investors Association wants to partner with the city to save more houses. Spokesperson Deborah Collins recognizes the city shouldn’t have to shoulder all the burden and wants the opportunity to review Cincinnati rules and regulations. Cincinnati REIA wants the city to make it easier for investors to rehab run-down buildings, like what it’s done for The Port.
Finding contractors to do the work
Home repair needs can vary and so does the amount of technical skill necessary. Finding somebody to fix problems or do preventative maintenance can be a problem because of shortages.
Ohio hopes to copy a Pennsylvania program that provides money for both home repair and workforce development. It’s called the Whole-Home Repairs Program and is funded through Federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
The Ohio CDC Association’s Torey Hollingsworth really likes the idea. “It does take those two elements, the actual home repairs and the workforce development issue, and pushes them together.”
Pennsylvania allocated resources to counties that can then contract with nonprofit developers or themselves can administer grants to homeowners to do basic repairs. It also allows for small landlords to access loans.
Home Matters to Ohio Coalition is advocating for funding this idea in the 2025-2026 state budget.
According to Hollingsworth, “We’re hopeful that this is something that would be included in the state budget. Then it takes a little while for the state agencies to get programs rolling, but we think this is a really important need. So, we hope it’s something that would be able to roll out in the next year or two.”
Limitations
Even though preserving housing stock is not as expensive as building new homes and apartments, the initial investment can still be significant. For properties with already low rents owners may delay fixing vital infrastructure issues. If they do fix it up, the property becomes more valuable and owners are more likely to sell it. In strong markets, owners will likely raise the rent after renovations.
Another barrier to preservation is navigating the bureaucracy of regulations and permits. This often delays the project by months or more.
Preservation requires specialized knowledge and skills and contractors can be hard to find. Torey Hollingsworth says, plumbers, electricians, people who typically have some kind of certification…..and sometimes even greater requirements like lead abatement.”
Benefits
If it wasn’t for the cost, few people see a downside to preservation. Here are some of the benefits:
- Cost-Effective
- Maintains Community Character
- Promotes Sustainability
- Has Sentimental Value
- Ensures Long-term Affordability and Quality
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies report says, “Even if home repair programs cannot produce, by themselves, significant effects on surrounding property values and the local tax base, they may generate enough other positive outcomes to justify their costs.
It cites the most comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of a home repair program conducted by Ecotone Analytics for Rebuilding Together in 2021. For every dollar invested, the organization generated $2.84 in social value. “The residents enjoyed $1.19 in benefits such as improved quality of life, prevented falls, improved respiratory health and other outcomes.”
Looking ahead
It’s not that people aren’t spending money to fix up their homes. A Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard says it was $503 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $509 billion in 2025.
But people in lower-income brackets don’t usually have the money to renovate and if they rent, it’s unclear if landlords or owners will want to invest in preservation.
Harvard researchers say, “there is simply an insufficient amount of resources available to meet the needs associated with current housing inadequacy or subpar performance.” And they point out that “A significant portion of households living in homes that are either physically inadequate or not performing to societally desirable standards are renters.”
Getting the funding will require a concerted effort from policymakers, developers and communities to overcome the challenges.
What do you think about the condition of U.S. housing stock and how important is investing in fixing it up before it falls into disrepair? We want to build community around context and solutions in our cities. Your feedback is very important to the effort, as we continue to dig deeper into the responses to some of our most pressing social issues, including the housing crisis. Click on the green button below to take a short survey to help reinforce and refine our work. Thank you.
Ann Thompson – Host, Producer
Over the last thirty years in Cincinnati, Ann Thompson has brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported and anchored for WVXU, WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV and Metro Networks and freelanced for NPR, CBS and ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and she has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. She is a former News Director and Operations Manager. Ann has reported from India, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Belgium as part of fellowships. Ann thinks of the Brick by Brick project as “journalism for good.” She serves as host and producer. Ann lives in Anderson Township with her husband Scott. They have two boys. Jake graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2022 and Kurt attends West Point.
