LONDONDERRY — About half of the people living in southern New Hampshire said they are experiencing housing burden, according to the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission’s Wednesday night presentation at the Londonderry Planning Board.
Commission Executive Director Sylvia von Aulock said housing burden is when people pay more than a third of their income to housing costs. An affordable homeowner situation is defined as spending less than 30% of income on rent or mortgage.
The presentation focused on affordability in the housing market, how people feel about it, and what communities can do to make the situation better.
“Some of this might shock you, some of this might depress you, it might make you mad, some of the data,” von Aulock said. “At the end, we hope to bring all those emotions back and make you hopeful.”
The commission conducted a survey in communities in the Manchester region, including Derry, Londonderry and Windham.
She shared some of the comments from the survey including comments from a resident whose home went into foreclosure and ended up homeless, an elderly couple who had to increase their mortgage to pay for repairs to their home, and someone who is in an domestically abusive situation because they could not afford to live in a safe area.
All of the comments she read were from anonymous Londonderry residents.
In total, about a quarter of Londonderry residents felt they were paying more than a third of their income a month for housing.
The commission’s Senior Geographic Information System Analyst Zachary Swick said there are a number of changes that could be made. He rolled out a plan for new housing units in town and what the planning board should strive to approve to alleviate the problem.
In 2025, there should be a total of 609 new “fair share” housing units, with the number increasing to 1,121 in 2030, and to 1,469 in 2035, and plateauing 1,660 by 2040.
The fair share housing production model estimates a community’s anticipated housing production needs based on projected population and employment growth. It estimates New Hampshire will need an additional 88,395 housing units by 2040.
According to data the commission collected on population statistics the state, Swick said there will be less need leading up to 2050, which is when a population decline is predicted to begin.
Von Aulock said Londonderry is already moving in the right direction with housing projects it’s approved.
“I knew from how I worked with Londonderry, you guys are very open to a variety of types of housing and you’ve brought in all kinds of different groups,” von Aulock said. “I just wanted to keep it in perspective what you all are already doing. This really shows. You’re meeting what you need to do here.”