Building boom limits affordable housing options
Tomball Potpourri // Tomball News
Tamra Santana, For the Chronicle
1of15Residential growth is expanding in the Tomball community of Wildwood at Northpointe, including this home on Columbia Key Drive by Village Builders. (Photo by Jerry Baker/Freelance)Jerry Baker/FreelanceShow MoreShow Less
4of15Residential growth is expanding in the Tomball community of Wildwood at Northpointe. (Photo by Jerry Baker/Freelance)Jerry Baker/FreelanceShow MoreShow Less
7of15Residential growth is expanding in the Tomball community of Wildwood at Northpointe. Across northwest Houston, business growth and mobility improvements have brought a population boom to the region.Jerry Baker/FreelanceShow MoreShow Less
9of15The Alexan Creekside apartments are shown on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, in Tomball. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )Brett Coomer/StaffShow MoreShow Less
10of15The new Avenues at Northpointe, 11740 Northpointe Boulevard in Tomball, is a gated complex with 280 apartments.David Hopper/freelanceShow MoreShow Less
Affordable housing in northwest Houston is becoming very hard to find.
"It is a huge problem," said Becky Loving, director of Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries. "That is one of the reasons people come to us. Their salaries haven't been increased, and their hours are probably decreased, and their apartment rent has just skyrocketed."
For many workers in lower wage jobs, including the service industry, finding affordable housing in the region can be difficult. And developers are building luxury apartments and high-end homes, pricing many in the local workforce out of the area.
"It's like a perfect storm - the demand for housing has increased and the pay and hours for so many of the people we see have decreased," Loving said.
The number of financially unstable households in northwest Houston continues to rise along with the population.
And among the few affordable apartments in the region, there is always a waiting list, Loving said. Or sometimes the list is so long, that even the waitlist is closed.
"They can't even get on the waiting list," she said.
Rents have continued to increase over the past two years for lower-end Class B and C apartment properties, according to an analysis by the Greater Houston Partnership. Class B rents averaged $948 per month, according to the analysis.
Economists have said this trend may affect long-term affordability.
Bruce McClenny, president of Houston-based Apartment Data Services, said has seen rents going up in less popular areas where older units are being refurbished.
The number of new apartment buildings in northwest Houston has increased in the last two years to meet the area's population growth. The growth has helped fill a void of multi-family housing in the area, however, the lower end, affordable units are still sparse.
The housing shortage is coupled with a rise in the homeless population in Northwest Houston, due in part to job layoffs and higher rents.
There are more than 4,000 homeless residents in the region, said Harris County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Robert Henry, who started a homeless outreach program.
The Homeless Outreach Team works to help the area's homeless, including providing transportation to transitional housing or a doctor's appointment or by offering food, water, clothing, bedding and hygiene kits. The team's primary goal is to help the homeless community find housing.
"What we see too often are homeless families, single parents, mostly women, living in cars with their children," Loving said. "The number of homeless has really increased."
And there are no homeless shelters close by, Loving said. The closest is Interfaith in The Woodlands or the Salvation Army in Conroe.
"I don't want to see any children having to go through that experience," she said.
The other struggle for residents in lower wage jobs is transportation.
"A lot of people don't have it at all," Loving said. "And we see a lot of clients that can't afford to get their car fixed, or, if they do, then they don't have rent money."
Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries helps residents in need throughout the year, including with food and with help paying rent and utilities.
Hundreds of families and seniors in Northwest Houston struggle to pay for basic needs, primarily food. At Northwest Assistance Ministries, the biggest demand is for food, which is due in part to job layoffs, said Amy Ragan, chief development officer with the Houston Food Bank.
Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries helped 60 percent more households in November compared with November of 2015, Loving said. The nonprofit helped 317 households in November 2015 and 525 households last month.
Tamra Santana