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Chapter 4: Richmond Housing Market Characteristics

Affordability

This chapter describes characteristics of both the rental and homeownership housing markets in the region.

Housing Characteristics

Housing Units

Housing across the Richmond Area has evolved differently in each locality. Richmond is the smallest geographically (60 square miles) but is far more intensively built up: in 2002 it had the greatest number of housing units per square mile (1,530) (Table 20). From 2000 to 2002, the number of housing units in Richmond dropped slightly, compared to significant increases in Chesterfield and Henrico, where a great deal of new residential construction has occurred.

Table 17: Housing Units Per Square Mile by Jurisdiction in the Richmond Area Number of Housing Units Jurisdiction 2000 2002 Percent Change in Number of Housing Units Land Area, Square Miles 2000 Number of Units (2002) per Square Mile Richmond 92,282 91,808 -0.5% 60 1,530 Chesterfield 97,707 102,926 5.3% 426 242 Henrico 112,570 116,905 3.9% 238 491

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (version 07/09/2004).

Age of Residential Buildings

The City of Richmond has a large and diverse collection of older homes, many dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The quality, charm and architecture of these houses are attracting many people to the City. Older homes are typically more expensive to renovate and maintain, which can be a problem for elderly homeowners and a barrier to potential homeowners with low incomes. Older residential buildings are concentrated in the north, central, and east sections of Richmond (Map 13). The absence of large vacant land tracts in the City tends to limit redevelopment to infill within existing neighborhoods.

Multi-Unit Structures

The City has proportionally the most units in multi-unit structures in the Richmond Area; nearly half of the housing units in the City are in multi-unit structures (Table 21). New

Chapter 4: Richmond Housing Market Characteristics

construction in the counties, particularly Chesterfield, is primarily of single-family homes.

Table 18: Housing Unit Characteristics by Jurisdiction in the Richmond Area, 2000 Jurisdiction Percent of Units in Multi-Unit

Structures*

Percent of All Units Vacant**

Richmond 42% 8% Henrico 28 4

Chesterfield 12 4

* Source is: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html

** Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 (SF-3 H6).

Vacancies and Condemned Buildings

The City of Richmond reported 2,932 vacant buildings across the City in November 2004 (Map 15). These buildings are primarily located in majority African-American areas of high poverty. According to Census data, in 2000 the City had twice the proportion of vacant housing (8%) than both Chesterfield (4%) and Henrico (4%) (Table 21). The vacancy rate in the region’s high poverty census tracts is even higher at 13 percent. City officials are concerned about the high number of vacant buildings because of the effect on the neighborhoods, property values and safety.

Rental Market Characteristics

Rental Housing

The City of Richmond’s rate of renter-occupied housing (54%) exceeds the other localities in the Richmond Region (Table 22). At the same time, the rental vacancy rate (4%) is twice as high as in Chesterfield and Henrico.

Table 19: Rental Market Characteristics by Jurisdiction in the Richmond Region, 2000

Vacant Units for Rent Jurisdiction Renter-occupied

housing Number Percent*

Richmond 54% 3,113 4%

Chesterfield 19 1,616 2

Henrico 34 1,970 2

* This variable is the percent of vacant units for rent of all housing units. Source: HOME analysis of Census 2000 (variables SF-1 H4 & H5).

Chapter 4: Richmond Housing Market Characteristics

Rental Housing Affordability

The rents in the City are lower than those in the counties, but low rents by themselves do not guarantee affordability. The proportion of rent to income is a more reliable indicator of affordability. A widely accepted rule of thumb is that households should pay no more than a third of their income for housing costs. A higher percentage leaves little room for other necessities or taking care of unexpected expenses. The City of Richmond has the highest proportion of renters paying more than 35 percent of their income for housing among jurisdictions in the region (Table 23). In the region’s areas of concentrated poverty, 41 percent of households pay more than 35 percent of their income for rent. Housing affordability was the most frequently mentioned concern by those interviewed for this study.

Table 20: Percent of Renters Paying More than 35 percent of Income for Housing in the Richmond Region, 1999

Jurisdiction Percent Paying More than 35%

Richmond 35% Henrico 26% Chesterfield 27%

Source: HOME analysis of Census 2000 (variables SF-3 H73).

Home Purchase Market Characteristics

Homeownership

Forty-six percent of Richmond units are owner occupied (Table 24). The other jurisdictions in the region have much higher levels of homeownership, ranging from 66 to 81 percent. In the region’s area of concentrated poverty, however, only 33 percent of households own their homes.

Homeownership rates across the Richmond region vary considerably by race. In Richmond, 55 percent of whites but only 40 percent of African-Americans own their own homes. Whites are more likely than blacks to be homeowners in every locality in the Richmond Region, although in Chesterfield black homeownership is relatively high (70%).

Chapter 4: Richmond Housing Market Characteristics

Table 21: Homeownership Rates by Race & Jurisdiction in the Richmond Region 1990-2000

All households White (non- Hispanic) households African-American households Jurisdiction 1990 2000 1990 2000 1990 2000 City of Richmond 42.0% 46.1% 53.4 55.3% 39.6 39.8% Chesterfield 75.5 80.9 81.3 84.2% 68.5 70.2% Henrico County 60.1 65.7 67.0 71.5% 51.4 53.0%

Note: Homeownership Rates are based on occupied households

House Value

The median value of homes in the City of Richmond ($87,300) is the lowest, by far, in the area (Table 25). The disparity in house values across the area is even more evident at the block group level (Map 17). In Richmond, most block groups have a median value below $74,400. In the region’s area of concentrated poverty, 25 of the 31 census tracts have median house values below that for the City. These range from 99.7 percent of the City value to 57.0 percent of the City value.

Table 22: Median House Value by Jurisdiction in the Richmond Region, 2000

Jurisdiction Median Value

Richmond $87,300 Henrico $121,300 Chesterfield $120,500

Source: HOME analysis of Census 2000 (variable SF-3 H76).

Affordable Homeownership

It is generally accepted that households paying more than 35 percent of their income for housing costs are in a weak financial position. Across the region, owners are less likely than renters to be paying more than 35 percent of their income on housing costs (compare Tables 23 and 26). Twenty percent of the homeowners in Richmond pay more than 35 percent of their income for housing – far more than homeowners in Henrico (13%) and almost twice as many as homeowners in Chesterfield (11%) (Table 26). In the region’s area of concentrated poverty, 25 percent of homeowners spend more than 35 percent of their income on housing costs.

Chapter 4: Richmond Housing Market Characteristics

Table 23: Percent of Homeowners Paying More than 35 Percent of Income for Housing in the Richmond Region, 2000

Jurisdiction Percent Paying More than 35%

Richmond 20% Henrico 13 Chesterfield 11

Source: HOME analysis of Census 2000 (variable SF-3 H97).

Chapter 4 Summary: Affordability of housing is a major issue in both the rental and

homeownership markets necessitating the promotion of increased affordable housing choices and enhancing the capacity of individual residents to find and keep housing.