(Milford)– A housing study in Milford has confirmed what many already know to be a challenge in the community: a lack of affordable housing. The city council Monday was presented with the findings of the study, conducted by Charlie Cowell of RDG of Des Moines…
“And we heard that loud and clear in Milford that that gap is across all different price points: affordable homes, attainable homes for new employees, younger populations, families, and then older populations wanting to move into something that better fits their lifestyles as they continue to age and want to live in Milford.”
That isn’t the case, though, across the board. Cowell says they did talk to some residents that are actually looking to move into higher-end housing…
“There are people that we even directly talked to said they would move out of their home and move to something else that met what their personal preferences are, whether that’s more bedrooms, more yard space, more amenities, different amenities, but ultimately what that means is a portion of those people who are living in units they either don’t prefer to be in or would like to move to something else, that opens up a lower price point home for someone else that wants to be in the community that’s maybe like I said, younger, just moving here, and have a little less for down payment, a little less for other expenses and what fits their needs.”
Cowell says one advantage Milford has over many other cities is that the majority of the existing housing stock is well maintained…
“I think private property owners take a lot of pride in their property here in Milford and the lakes region and upkeep and maintenance and that’s really the first step and so there’s a few areas maybe that need some help or enforcement but in general it’s just all about property owner pride is really essential because they’re the ones that maintain the property and then, too, is for those that may be are a little bit more financially burdened, having programs, which there are out there currently through different partners here in town for rehab and renovation and things and emergency repair.”
The study also addressed rental units in the city. Cowell says most landlords they visited with talked about the need to increase rents to keep up with inflationary pressures. And when it comes to addressing the housing needs, Cowell says it’s going to require a multi-faceted approach…
“We need more people to build the houses. We need more land available to do different projects. We need a lot of different financing partners involved, so it’s really a wholistic game here with a lot of different people that need to be involved.”
Mayor Steve Anderson says the city will likely form a task force in March to begin looking into the study and its recommendations.
You can view the study in its entirety by clicking here.
