Town of Summerville Planning Area - BCD Council of Governments

Overcrowdedness of HousingThe presence of overcrowded housing in a community can indicate levels of poverty or affordability. .Figure HO6 shows the percentage of Summerville residents living in overcrowded housing (defined asmore than one resident per room in a household by the US Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment). Since 2000, this figure has declined significantly from 2.7 percent of households in 2000to 0.9 percent in 2008. This is, in large part, because much of the housing in the town has been built assingle‐family housing since 1980. During this period, the housing market has encouraged the provisionof one bedroom per family member, when combined with the decrease in household size has limitedthe number of overcrowded dwellings.Figure HO6: Percentage of Overcrowded Dwellingsin Town of Summerville9%8%7%6%5%4%3%2%1%0%1970 1980 1990 2000 2006‐2008Housing AffordabilityOwner Occupied HousingLike many areas of the US, the median value of owner‐occupied housing in Summerville has risensubstantially in the last decade to an estimated $179,800 for all owner occupied units. Homes without amortgage had a median value of $174,800, while homes that were mortgaged were valued at anestimated $180,400. While this figure is not indexed for inflation, it does indicate that the rise in housingvalues has exceeded the rate of inflation (an average of 2.8% per year since 1990) in the US. Figure HO7shows the increase in median home value in Summerville since 1980.Housing Element Page 7