Angel Garcia, a single father, had a mortgage loan of $ 300,000 approved and in early 2020 he had high hopes of finding an affordable home in his hometown: Stamford, Connecticut.
Then the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Within a few months, New York residents fleeing the city and surrounding areas began arriving to buy homes. Already high house prices soared. Garcia, who works as a security chief at the Stamford government building, ended the year still living with his 3-year-old daughter in a rented apartment.
“It is very difficult with all the competition here and the prices as they are. They were already expensive, ”said Garcia, who has a second job as a security guard.
The strong influx of people moving into the state and in particular to Fairfield County, on the border with New York State, has been celebrated by many, including Governor Ned Lamont, who said in his address to the state last week that this reflects a desire for more living space and an appreciation of “Connecticut values.”
But the influx has made it difficult for many to find affordable housing in an area that is among the most unequal in terms of income.
Newcomers compounded the affordable housing shortage by often buying houses quickly and paying cash, explained Joan Carty, president of the Housing Development Fund, a nonprofit in Stamford that finances affordable housing and gives loans to people who buy their first home.
“We can clearly see it. And it’s making the level of inequity more obvious, ”he said.
One day last month, there were only five single-family homes for sale for less than $ 400,000, with the least expensive at 325,000, in Stamford, which is considered less expensive than other Fairfield County communities, said Tammy Felenstein, executive vice president and sales director at Brown Harris Stevens Connecticut LLC, a real estate firm in Stamford.
“You hear stories: ‘This couple lost three houses. Others made better offers. ‘ And it definitely happens, ”Felenstein said. He said his runners are “dying to get inventory” in Stamford, a place that seems like a trifle to many New York City arrivals.
In many metropolitan areas in the United States, residents of large cities have moved to small cities in the past year, according to Updater, a relocation technology company that monitors national moving trends during the pandemic. Connecticut logged more arrivals than departures for the first time in three years, according to the Updater, who said Stamford was the top destination for New Yorkers.
Thomas Madden, the city’s economic development director, said that in a typical month before the pandemic there were between $ 80 million and $ 110 million in home sales. That jumped to $ 146 million in August, $ 152 million in September, and $ 157 million in November.
“This is incredible,” he said. “Prices have exploded and sales have exploded.”
Democratic Governor Lamont pointed to the advantages of influx in his speech.
“There are many reasons that young families and new businesses are taking a second look at us and choosing Connecticut,” he said, noting that people are drawn to the state’s schools, as well as cities and towns whose centers offer “Some of the best and safest alfresco dining experiences in the country” or the ability to be quarantined with a patio instead of a small apartment.
“Whatever the reason,” Lamont said, “tens of thousands of young families have moved to the state for the first time in a generation because they recognize and appreciate our values in Connecticut.”
In the same speech, he promised to expand “(his government’s) commitment to affordable housing.”
Max Reiss, a spokesman for the governor, said that while Lamont thinks a competitive housing market is good for the state’s economy, he does not see access to homeownership as being out of reach due to a sales boom. and that is why it supports providing adequate funds for housing assistance programs.
Stamford Democratic Mayor David Martin said more rental options will be available very soon and pointed to an effort to finish construction of apartment complexes that were approved before the pandemic. The city’s zoning rules require that at least 10% of new residential complexes with 10 or more units have affordable costs.
“They are eager to finish those buildings because there is an attractive market right now. And when they are ready, they will provide some more affordable units, ”he said. “We have built more affordable units in the last 5 to 10 years in Stamford than in any other municipality in the state.”
Before the pandemic, 38% of Farfield County residents spent more than half of their monthly income on housing, said Mendi Blue-Pace, chief community impact officer at the county’s Community Foundation. Although the current trend will almost certainly put more homes out of reach for potential buyers, Blue-Pace believes that new residents will have a positive impact.
“There is hope that there is a new group of people who can engage in philanthropy,” he said. “We would like to connect with many of those new residents coming to the county who may have an interest in responding to social issues and using some of their disposable income to address the needs that exist in the county.”
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