The Housing Solutions Council is a citizen-led group of community leaders working to support housing opportunities for members of our workforce.
In May 2018, the Housing Solutions Council was officially founded as a non-profit organization to provide and support solutions to the affordable housing crisis for members of all income levels of our workforce. Helping facilitate these solutions means:
To advocate for meaningful policies to increase the availability of housing that is attainable for our local workforce and our retired seniors on fixed incomes that helped make our community what it is today.
To educate our community on the goals of the HSC, the housing realities facing our community, the economic impact of a lack of affordable housing, and solutions that are working in other communities and that are applicable in Martin County.
To facilitate the creation of quality housing that is attainable for our workforce and retirees through vetting of developers, collaboration with community partners and funders, and direct development of homes.
As wages remain stagnant and the cost of living continues to rise, a gap in attainable housing continues to grow. An increasing number of residents on the Treasure Coast earn just over the maximum household income to qualify for a government subsidy but far too little to afford market rents and housing costs.
This creates financial instability, making home ownership nearly impossible as renters are unable to save.
With few options, working individuals and families may spend 50% of their household income on rent or home ownership to live and work in the same or nearby counties. As we push members of our workforce out and prevent college graduates from returning, we start a drain on our workforce.
This creates a burden for local business owners looking to recruit and retain top talent and prevents families from living near each other (parents, grandparents and their adult children).
Workers forced to drive long distances into and out of local communities from one to two counties away puts a strain on infrastructure, leading to widening of roadways and traffic congestion. Long commutes increase costs to families for vehicle maintenance and fuel while decreasing time with their family.
Members of the workforce take the money they earn here with them to spend where they live. Consumers have less money to put back into the economy due to increasing expenses for housing and healthcare. This creates a dependency on government subsidies for qualifying individuals, people going without healthcare and necessary medical/dental services, and families resorting to substandard childcare or children left home alone while parents work two or more jobs to make ends meet.
Overall, this results in a downward spiral of financial instability for people doing everything right, but with no opportunity to generate the savings necessary to buy their own home or take care of unforeseen emergencies.
The majority of our parents and grandparents paid no more than 20% of their household income on rents/mortgages when they returned home from the military, graduated high school or college and entered the workforce.
Currently, in our area and across the United States rents are up to 50% of household incomes. As new generations enter the workforce, the future of home ownership is grim with little room for savings.
Housing is considered affordable when it costs no more than 30% of a household’s income (including utilities & taxes).
As of 2023, the Area Median Income (AMI) of Martin County was $84,800.
50% to 80% of AMI – Defined (in Fla Statutes Chapter 420) as “Low Income” which is $42,400 to $67,840 total gross household income in our area (30% monthly housing costs means $1,060 to $1,696).
30% to 50% of AMI – Defined (in Fla Statutes Chapter 420) as “Very Low Income” which is $25,400 to $42,400 total gross household income in our area (30% monthly housing costs means $635 to $1,060).
To learn more about what the Housing Solutions Council has to offer, please sign up to receive regular updates on our progress and projects.
701 S. Colorado Ave #2
Stuart, FL 34994
Email: HousingSolutionsCo@gmail.com
Phone: 772.260.2388