Virginia is due at least $1 billion from the federal government for affordable housing, according to experts who gathered virtually Thursday to discuss how governments and other local beneficiaries should invest those funds on long-lasting, system-transforming programs.
The Roanoke Regional Housing Network hosted its 2021 housing symposium Thursday morning, attended via teleconference by interest groups, nonprofits and other stakeholders, for an audience of more than 50.
The climate surrounding affordable housing has changed drastically in the past year, said Bob Adams, executive director of HousingForward Virginia, a state data and insight resource.
âWe re at a generational high-water level in terms of housing resources,â Adams said. âI ve worked in affordable housing for 40 years, and I ve never worked in an environment that was as resource-rich as the one that we re in right now.â
Roanoke leaders examine the future of affordable housing
Published:
Tags:
Roanoke examining the future of affordable housing
ROANOKE, Va. – The who’s who of housing in the Roanoke Valley gathered Thursday ahead of what they expect to be a busy summer for home buying and building.
During the Roanoke Regional Housing Network’s housing symposium, speakers predicted a more normal feel to the housing market this summer as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Some of the drivers of affordable housing in the next five years, they say, are racial equity, housing resilience, millennial versus senior buying trends and financing; however, there are some hurdles they still have to jump through.
What’s News Today: Grace Potter, naming Lee Plaza
What’s News Today: Grace Potter, naming Lee Plaza
Here’s a look at some of the stories we’ll be following today as they make headlines across the country and Southwest Virginia.
Tags:
What s News Today (WSLS 10)
The Roanoke Regional Housing Network will hold a Housing Symposium today. The keynote address this year is Housing Headwinds in 2021, given by Dr. Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders. He has published research on the benefit of homeownership and other topics. Panelists will hold discussions on affordable housing and health and housing during a pandemic.
An abundance of reclaimable homes sit vacant in the Roanoke Valley and Alleghany Highlands, waiting to help fill the need for affordable living, if only someone or something would regionalize an approach to bring together those and other pieces of the housing situation, said the findings of a study from the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.
Across the studied regionâs counties â Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke â and its cities and towns â Covington, Roanoke and Salem, Clifton Forge, Rocky Mount and Vinton â one-third of all vacant housing units are classified by U.S. Census data as âvacant other,â with potential for rehabilitation and reoccupancy, the 2020 study said.