Oregon Housing and Community Services has released County Housing Profiles as part of their development of a statewide Housing Plan. You can see Wasco County’s data here: http://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/DO/shp/profiles/Wasco-County-Housing-Profile.pdf
The data sheet gives information on wages related to housing affordability, home ownership rates, and some other indicators of economic and housing health. Data shows that there is a deficit in lower income housing availability in Wasco County, and that lower income households are paying more of their income towards housing than higher incomes. While our median house sales prices in 2015 were still significantly lower than other regions of the state, we see that trends towards increasing housing costs will continue to create gaps of affordability in Wasco County.
During our visioning phase, we did hear from community members that housing affordability was an issue. We are exploring ways to add capacity in certain areas, or increase education about the opportunities currently available in the County, to meet that demand.
We hope that you will continue to share your thoughts and ideas related to housing issues in Wasco County!