John Scarffe, Nederland. A Housing Needs Assessment draft for the Nederland Housing Steering Committee has been completed and will be finalized by October 7. The Assessment will be presented to the Nederland Board of Trustees meeting on October 7, according to Atashnaa Medicine Shield, Nederland Housing Task Force community liaison.

The Nederland Housing Task Force under the Board of Trustees made good strides until the flood happened, and the issue of housing in the area was catapulted into the general consciousness of people, Medicine Shield said.

Several months ago the Housing Steering Task Force was created. A Housing Needs Survey was then conducted in June by Bowen National Research, paid for by Nederland and Boulder County Human Services.  Bowen representatives were in Nederland for a week to do random testing and drive around the area.

Bowen had surveyors at B&F Mountain Market asking people at random to participate. Task Force members also had a series of meetings with them, and the survey was posted on the Town website. Medicine Shield said that 287 people participated in the survey within the primary survey area (PSA) in Town limits and within a 10-mile radius.

Names of 75 residents were submitted as stakeholders and were contacted directly by email or telephone. The survey they took was slightly different than the survey for the general public. The stakeholders included renters, owners, and businesses. They were chosen because they’d been in the community for a while, know a broad spectrum of people, and have a good feel for the community at large.

The Task Force is now waiting for a final draft, and a Bowen Research representative will make a presentation at the October Board meeting.

The biggest demand is for affordable two-bedroom houses, according to the survey. In 2010, Nederland homeowners occupied 61.8 percent of all housing units, while 38.2 percent were renter-occupied. In 2013, 42.9 percent of households within the PSA were renters.

Nearly one-third of PSA rental housing was built prior to 1940 and nearly one-fourth constructed prior to 1980. During the past couple of decades new rental units have been added at about one rental unit a year.

Nederland has 99 rental units within the PSA. More than one-third of renters are paying a disproportionately high share of their income for rent. The town lacks large enough parcels of land in the PSA to accommodate all the housing needed and has no rentals available.

As a result, rents go up, and no maintenance occurs because the property owner is getting money anyhow. People aren’t able to move because there’s no place to move to.

Between 2000 and 2013, within the PSA the median age increased from 33.5 to 41, as a result of a 33 percent loss in younger people under 35 years of age. At the same time, there was a significant increase in older people, tripling the number of people over the age of 55.

From 2013 to 2018, the greatest projected decline will be between the age group of 35 to 45. By 2018, 48 percent of households in the PSA are projected to be 55 or older.

From 2013 to 2018 nearly half the growth is anticipated to occur among one-person households. The strongest growth rates among renters and owners is anticipated to be one- and two-person households.

Income factors from 2013

In Nederland, 24.9 percent of households earn less than $30,000 per year, while 21.2 percent of households earn between $30,000 and $60,000 per year; 53.9 percent of households earn more than $60,000 per year. The median household income within the SSA (surrounding 10 mile survey area) was $65,045.

Of renter households, 47 percent earned less than $30,000, compared with 12 percent of homeowners. 27 percent of renters and 25 percent of homeowners earn between $30,000 and $60,000. Only 26 percent of renters earned $60,000 or more, compared with 63 percent of homeowners.

It is estimated that between 2013 and 2018, 44 percent of all renter households will be earning less than $30,000. Affordable rent for those households would be considered $750 or less.

For-sale information from 2013

Owner households are predominantly comprised of two people and account for 44.6 percent of all owner households. In the PSA, only two houses were for sale below $200,000 and they were built in the 1970s.

85 percent of all for-sale houses built around 1977 have a median price of $357,000.  At this price level, households would require an income of around $100,000.

Houses built in 2000 or later that are currently available for sale have a median list price of $427,000.  While selling well, the pricing of such houses indicates that purchasers seeking more affordable (priced under $300,000) residences have difficulty finding such houses.

The lack of available low- and moderately-priced houses for sale create challenges,  including difficulty retaining residents who are seeking to downsize; difficulty retaining younger smaller households and first-time homebuyers; difficulty attracting households seeking moderately priced houses.

These results will be shared with the Nederland Board of Trustees at the Tuesday, October 7, meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center.