125394325_web1_Coronavirus--1-

23 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Luzerne County; 1,054 statewide

4 more MLB players positive for COVID, raising total to 84

WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Housing is a critical issue in NEPA.
				Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development at Wilkes University, said housing insecurity affects employee productivity and retention, behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse), physical health and children&rsquo;s academic performance and behavior.
				The housing section of The Institute&rsquo;s 2020 Indicators Report covers indicators that measure Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s housing market, including demand, building permits, occupancy, housing affordability, rental affordability, housing density, market conditions and homelessness.
				In 2018, Ooms said there were 250,987 housing units in the two counties. Of those, 150,280 were in Luzerne County and 100,707 were in Lackawanna County.
				&ldquo;The region&rsquo;s housing stock is predominantly older, and about two-thirds of housing units are owner-occupied,&rdquo; Ooms said.
				Approximately 53 percent of homes in the two counties were built prior to 1960, compared to just 47 percent statewide.
				Conversely, the region has a smaller proportion of homes built since 2000 &mdash; about eight percent, compared to 11 percent across the state.
				&ldquo;The aging housing stock is a challenge from both a cost perspective because it will cost more to maintain and it presents difficulties for residents that want to age in place as the house is not likely able to accommodate some older individuals with limitations,&rdquo; Ooms said.
				Since the housing market crash, Ooms said signs of recovery in the region have been mixed. She said the latest data show some increasing price points, however.
				Median home value, tracked by the Census Bureau, decreased in Lackawanna County and increased in Luzerne County. Furthermore, median listing price &mdash; a more immediate indicator of market activity &mdash; grew in both counties and at the state level.
				For-sale inventory dropped in the two-county region, remaining well below levels recorded five years ago.
				&ldquo;Together, these signs point to tightening housing market conditions,&rdquo; Ooms said.
				Another consideration is foreclosures and evictions. Households that experienced loss of income during COVID-19 could lead to a spike in foreclosure and eviction proceedings.
				&rdquo;While actions have been taken to prevent people from losing their homes, such as increased unemployment benefits and a temporary halt to evictions, it is possible that we will see a rise once those protections are eventually lifted,&rdquo; Ooms said. &ldquo;The degree of such an increase is hard to predict right now &mdash; while we can estimate how many in our region have lost jobs or income during COVID-19, we don&rsquo;t have strong data on how many of those households have fallen behind on housing payments.&rdquo;
				Ooms said foreclosures in the region have generally fallen in the most recent data, with the last spikes occurring in the wake of the last recession. Even before COVID-19, Luzerne County in particular had seen some growth in the number of foreclosures.
				Foreclosures by county 2012-2018
				Ooms said housing affordability has not changed significantly over time. The median monthly ownership costs &mdash; including mortgage payment, property taxes, and other costs of home-ownership &mdash; as a percentage of median household income were calculated for owner-occupied households, along with gross rent as a percent of household income.
				In 2018, monthly home-ownership costs as a percentage of median household income for both counties increased slightly but were lower than 2010 proportions. Rent costs as a percentage of the median household income for renters have decreased in Lackawanna County and increased in Luzerne County in 2018, and are close to the percentages recorded at the beginning of the last decade.
				As a general guideline, many experts consider houses with more than 30 or 33 percent of their income spent on rent as cost-burdened.
				In the region, the median rent as a percentage of income is just under 30 percent, lower than it was back in 2010, and lower than the statewide percentage as well. Renter-occupied households in both counties are more than twice as likely as owner-occupied households to be cost-burdened.
				In both Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties, lower-income households (with incomes under $35,000) make up about 31 percent of all occupied households, but close to 80 percent of all cost-burdened households.
				Homelessness
				Finally, Ooms said homelessness remains a challenge in this region, as with virtually all communities in the United States.
				In 2019, 350 homeless individuals were counted in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
				Across the Commonwealth, more than 15 percent of all homeless households counted in 2019 were unsheltered, compared to only about five percent in the region.

Economic Indicators: Housing is critical issue in Northeastern Pennsylvania