Columbia County Housing Study

In fall 2016, Community Action Team, with the support of Columbia County and its cities, established  a Housing Work Group to better understand what was causing the shortage of housing for residents of  all income levels and what could be done about it. Members included a diverse group of professionals  engaged in the housing industry, including developers, planners, appraisers, lenders and nonprofit  sector representatives. Our group heard from industry experts, engaged in lively dialogue and learned  from one another over the course of fifteen months. This report presents the highlights of what we  learned and our recommendations for a coordinated set of actions to better meet the housing needs  of current and future residents of  Columbia County. 

From a housing analysis prepared by ECONorthwest,¹ some key facts emerged about the County’s current housing market.  

Columbia County Housing Market 

Housing affordability is a challenge faced by County households of all  income levels. One third of all Columbia County households spend more than  30% of their income for housing. This includes half of all renters and a  quarter of all homeowners. These figures are consistent with other  communities in Oregon and the US. 

The County has a deficit of 1,900 housing units affordable to households  earning less than $25,000 annually.  

Without a change in course, these conditions will worsen in the future.

One of the local contributing factors to the lack of affordability is the  county’s housing mix, which is 87% single family detached, 2% single family  attached and 12% multifamily.

Broader Economic Trends and Policies  

We also learned that larger-scale factors may be in play and contributing to the mismatch between housing demand and housing supply in the County. 

Nationally as well as locally, incomes have not kept pace with the  rising cost of housing. On an inflation-adjusted basis, 2014 rents were  about 1.6 times their 1960 value, while real incomes increased by a  factor of 1.2. Housing has become less affordable for almost everyone. Especially hard-hit are lower-income working households. —Federal and state investments in low-cost housing fall well short of  adequate. As a result, funding for subsidized housing is highly  competitive, favoring the efficiency of larger projects and not typically  scaled for smaller communities like those in Columbia County. This  contributes substantially to the County’s deficit of housing affordable to  those earning less than $25,000 annually. 

Like other communities, Columbia County has a pronounced real  estate market cycle affecting supply & affordability. When the study  began, supply was low, demand was high and prices were increasing. At  the end, supply was increasing but prices have yet to stabilize.