To afford a 2-bedroom place in North Jersey, you'll need hourly wage of $29

Published: March 12, 2013
By Kathleen Lynn

Renters in Bergen and Passaic counties need to make more than $29 an hour to afford the typical two-bedroom home, making the area one of the nation's least affordable, according to a new report from a housing organization.

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, New Jersey as a whole is the nation's fourth-most expensive rental market, after Hawaii, the District of Columbia and California. In its annual Out of Reach report, the advocacy group for low-income housing recommended that mortgage tax breaks for wealthy households be curtailed, to raise more federal funds for affordable housing.

Demand for rentals has risen during the housing bust, as stricter mortgage standards made it harder for families to buy homes. And a housing advocacy group said superstorm Sandy has increased pressure on an already tight rental market.

"Sandy really has made the situation worse throughout the state," said Arnold Cohen, policy coordinator of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. "What you have is people who have lost their homes as a result of the hurricane entering the rental market."

Cohen said that the state should use a large share of its Sandy-related federal disaster assistance to target housing needs. And, he said, Governor Christie should do more to support affordable housing.

"This governor has not seen housing as a vehicle to help the economy grow," Cohen said.

In Bergen County, according to the network, 57 percent of renters earn too little to comfortably afford the typical two-bedroom apartment, with a market rent estimated at $1,450 a month. In Passaic County, three-quarters of renters can't comfortably afford a two-bedroom apartment. The housing coalition defines affordable housing as taking no more than 30 percent of a household's monthly income.

In response to the report, a landlords' group, the New Jersey Apartment Association, called for reining in regulations that make housing more expensive and harder to build in the state. For example, although building owners are required to register with the Department of Community Affairs, a number of municipalities also require them to register with the town, at a cost that sometimes exceeds $100 per unit, the group said.

"These types of regulatory costs are directly added to rents," said Nicholas Kikis, director of regulatory affairs and research at the association, which represents the owners and managers of more than 170,000 rental units in the state.

Kikis said the New Jersey housing market is costly because of the state's proximity to New York City and its limits on new development, as well as its relatively high-income population.

"New Jersey is always going to be an expensive place to live," he said.

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