For workers making at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, housing options in Calcasieu Parish are limited. Locally, a renter has to earn $14.65 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment — a significant amount in a part of the state where 30 percent of the population rents, and an even larger segment of that population makes less than the nearly $15 wage benchmark.

The issue in Southwest Louisiana mirrors what is happening on a state and national level, according to Research by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The group’s recent report, “Out of Reach 2016: No Refuge for Low Income Renters,” shows that in no parish, county, metropolitan area or state can a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage afford a two-bedroom apartment.

The housing wage determined for each area by the coalition is based on the hourly wage someone working 40 hours a week needs to earn, without spending more than 30 percent of his or her income on rent and utilities. Financial advisers suggest people pay no more than 25 percent of their gross monthly income toward rent.

Diane Yentel, president and CEO of NLIHC, described the housing situation in the country as “dire.” She said the U.S. faces a widening gap “between the housing needs of our nation’s lowest-income households and what is affordable and available to them.”

In Calcasieu Parish, the average renter earns $12.91 per hour, according to the report. Renters who make the federal minimum wage of $7.25 would need to work 64 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom unit at the current market rate, 81 hours to afford a two-bedroom unit, and 124 hours per week to afford a four-bedroom unit.

Based on the market, a local one-bedroom apartment costs an average of $604. A two-bedroom apartment costs $762. And a four-bedroom unit can cost $1,170. At the prices listed in the report, a local renter would need to earn $30,480 per year to afford a two-bedroom apartment, $24,160 for a one-bedroom, and $46,800 for a four-bedroom unit.

Julian Castro, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in the report’s preface that the document would go a long way in reaffirming the importance of investing in affordable housing on a national level. He described the support provided to people through HUD as a way “to help people succeed today, and live healthier lives long into the future.”

Earlier this year, HUD, through the nation’s Housing Trust Fund, made roughly $174 million available for preserving and rehabilitating rental housing for extremely low-income households. The fund is a new housing production program that HUD officials said will complement federal, state and local efforts to increase the availability of affordable housing. Louisiana was allocated $3 million from HUD in fiscal year 2016.

The issue of housing is also being addressed locally, in part, through a collective initiative between the city, the parish and the GO Group.

The push for finding ways to make the housing market more accommodating began in May when the City Council approved a resolution by Mayor Randy Roach. The item allowed the city to work with local agencies in issuing a request for proposals to hire a consultant to help local agencies create a program focused on the housing market.

The areas to ultimately benefit from the resolution will be portions of Lake Charles not being served by real estate developers. City officials said the initiative will also help address the expected population growth in the area.

Roach said the local housing market could find relief if an emphasis is placed on creating housing priced below $175,000, and apartments renting for less than $1,000 per month. Local real estate agents have said the price points are popular among recent college graduates and first-time homebuyers.

 

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