In Bend, 2022 was a year of workforce shortages and a skyrocketing housing market — and these two issues are inextricably linked. The lack of available and affordable housing is one of our region’s most significant challenges, impacting individuals and families and worsening our labor shortage.
From an employer’s standpoint, lack of affordable housing has become a determining factor on whether their business thrives, stays stagnant or withers. From the standpoint of a Bend resident, affordable housing is disappearing, reducing the number of people who can afford to live and work here. The result of high-priced housing includes a deficit of teachers, healthcare workers and others who used to be able to live here. We also see limited business hours and services due to lack of labor.
In 2021 The Bend Chamber launched a workforce housing initiative that includes a social media campaign explaining this issue from both an employer and employee perspective. Additionally, we brought together housing experts and formed a coalition of public, private and nonprofit organizations who are working together on policies and legislation to remove barriers and support increased production of housing.
Our initiative also includes research to better understand the significance of the lack of attainable housing. The Chamber commissioned a recent survey by ECONorthwest, a research company, showing how unaffordable housing is impacting employers and our economy. An astounding 81 percent of regional employers in the survey said housing was the most significant barrier to hiring personnel.
Employers are trying to respond to the situation, with 83 percent increasing wages, and 76 percent allowing for more flexible work schedules. They have allowed their employees to move to other states where the cost of living is cheaper, provided their employees with the use of company vehicles for transportation, and other incentives. Some are considering subsidizing housing costs by offering land for residential development, buying rental units for their workforce, or offering mortgage and down payment assistance.
When businesses can’t hire, the cascading effect is seen in our economy. Two-thirds of employers reported that the inability to hire decreased their revenues. And small businesses are hit the hardest, with the greater percentage experiencing decreased revenues by more than 25 percent.
The Bend Chamber took this research to heart and is partnering with Providence Health Plans and other businesses to invest in a workforce housing program through Kôr Community Land Trust to build a pathway to homeownership for employees who cannot afford to purchase a home in Bend. The program includes an employer-supported down payment for a net-zero, modest home that is made available to an employee who would otherwise not be able to afford the initial costs involved in home ownership.
Four homes will be made available to local employers to offer to qualified employees. The program is scalable and an example of how employers can offer the significant perk of a pathway to home ownership.
Clearly more needs to be done to reduce costs and barriers to both home ownership and rental residences. It is a long-term problem to solve, and the Bend Chamber is committed to finding solutions.
