River Cities Business Journal: Real Estate

News West

KINGMAN - A Phoenix consulting firm painted a dire picture Feb. 5, on the status of affordable housing in Mohave County.

About a year ago, the Mohave County Community and Economic Development Department hired Crystal and Company to do a study on affordable housing in the county.

The department's director, Suzie Parel-Duranceau, asked the Board to have county staff come back in a month with recommendations for strategies in increasing affordable housing.

Rich Crystal said that from 1999 to 2006, housing prices have doubled or more than doubled with the average home price in Bullhead City rising 212 percent from $68,000 in 2000 to $214,000 in 2006.

The average home price in Mohave Valley rose 100 percent from $86,000 home in 2000 to $173,000 in 2006, according to the Crystal and Company report.

In Kingman, the average home price rose 91 percent from $84,800 in 2000 to more than $162,000 in 2006. In Golden Valley, home prices rose 88 percent from more than $61,000 in 2000 to more than $115,000 last year.

A resident of Bullhead City needs to make more than $26 an hour to buy a median price home. That same person also needs to make $12.56 an hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment.

“Firefighters, police officers, nurses and teachers are all being priced out of the local market,” Crystal said.

Firefighters in Bullhead City average about $14.78 an hour, police officers average about $19.92 an hour, nurses average about $17.74 an hour and teachers average about $15.16 an hour, he said.

The study shows the priorities for affordable housing projects to include areas in Mohave Valley, Golden Valley, the Butler area of Kingman, Dolan Springs and Desert Hills as well as other areas near Bullhead City, Kingman and Lake Havasu City.

About 14.5 percent of residents say they are overcrowded in their homes, 36 percent say their homes are in disrepair and 58 percent say their rental or mortgage payments are a burden, Crystal said.

The county has a shortage of affordable housing for low-income families. The county also needs to help first-time homeowners with down payments. Another problem is some homebuyers have poor credit qualification.

One goal is to focus on housing rehabilitation for lower income homeowners in the county and improve living conditions by expanding county rehabilitation and repair programs. Another goal is support homeownership and encourage enough low-income rental housing to recruit businesses to the area.