COUNCILMEMBER JAMIE GAUTHIER REACTS TO NEW REPORT SHOWING SCOPE OF PHILLY’S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

PHILADELPHIA – Today, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), Chair of City Council’s Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, issued the following statement in response to Pew Charitable Trust’s report on Single-Family Home Sales in Philadelphia.

“We pride ourselves on being a city where most residents, even those earning a modest income, can achieve the dream of homeownership.

“A report released today by Pew Charitable Trust offered some welcome news: households with incomes below $50,000 are still the largest group of Philadelphia homeowners.

“But Pew’s report also proves that our worsening housing affordability crisis threatens to end Philly’s standing as one of the most affordable big cities.

“As the Chair of City Council’s Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, I am distressed by runaway home prices. In 2000, 52% of homes purchased by traditional buyers cost $100,000 or less and 3% cost $400,000 or more. In 2021, 3% of homes sold to traditional buyers cost $100,000 or less and 23% cost $400,000 or more. We already know that home prices have risen much faster than incomes. This means most of my constituents can no longer afford to buy a home in Philadelphia.

“This report confirms that corporate home purchases exacerbate the housing affordability crisis. I am troubled that investors bought more than 1 out of every 3 single-family homes sold between 2000 and 2021.  Corporate buyers tend to purchase homes in disrepair, which cost less. This skews our statistics and masks the true scope of this plight.

“We must reject the notion that homes are nothing more than commodities to be traded like stocks or gold. Healthy communities and a vibrant city depend on us keeping homes in the hands of neighbors who will steward them and their neighborhoods.

“The housing affordability crisis disproportionately impacts our city’s Black community. Black households were the only racial group that received fewer mortgages in 2021 than in 2000. We must do more to defy displacement and specifically help Black families remain and become homeowners.

“Council’s Housing Committee will continue to do everything we can to get working families into safe, stable, and affordable homes. Inaction isn’t an option, because the very thing that makes Philadelphia, Philadelphia is at stake.”