Housing

Communities with higher rates of homeownership are more likely to thrive. Owning a home allows people to build wealth, take out loans for higher education, benefit from tax deductions and enjoy a sense of community. Neighborhoods with higher rates of homeownership also have increased property values, meaning more money is available for schools, infrastructure and public services.

Most Americans build wealth through homeownership. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of homeowners is 40 times that of renters.

While homeownership is not necessarily for everyone, it can instill a sense of pride, which encourages area beautification, neighborhood watch programs and decreased resident turnover. All of these factors can critically impact the quality of life in our communities, including our health, security and education.

Rural counties throughout Upstate New York face housing challenges, but residents of our local cities are less likely to be able to afford to become homeowners and more likely to reside in rental housing or shelters. In Syracuse, nearly one in three households are cost-burdened and low-income, occupied by people earning less than $35,000 per year. The cost of renting an apartment has been rising, and Syracuse’s rental market has become the most competitive in the country. Affordable rentals can be difficult to secure, in part because landlords often will not rent to tenants who rely on rental assistance. In addition, there are racial disparities in which racial and ethnic minorities face lower rates of homeownership and higher housing cost burdens.

Some of the most impoverished areas of Syracuse today reflect redlined districts resulting from the National Housing Act of 1934, which led to a large increase in residential racial segregation and urban decay in US cities. “Residential security maps” created out of the Act for the purpose of identifying areas desirable for real estate lending, deemed certain neighborhoods too financially risky to invest home loans in – in large part due to their racial or ethnic makeup. This allowed poverty, especially that of minority populations, to persist. While redlining is no longer considered a lawful practice under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the effects of these deeply rooted inequalities continue to live on. A 2023 study found that Syracuse has one of the largest disparities in homeownership among Black residents among U.S. cities.

Whether you’re an experienced volunteer, an activist, a student, working professional, or a stay-at-home parent, there are roles both big and small that you can play to shape the future of the region.

Stable, sufficient housing can lower crime within a neighborhood. On the other hand, a lack of safe, reliable, and efficient housing can have the opposite effect on a neighborhood or community, causing neighborhoods to deteriorate as residents leave for other areas and businesses to decline or exit.

Vacant and abandoned properties can lead to higher crime rates, lower property values and increasing municipal costs according to the NYS Department of Financial Services. Vacant properties also pose health risks; for example, many deteriorating older homes cause lead paint to enter the surrounding soil.

Vacant residential and commercial properties tend to portray a community suffering economically, thus leading to community disinvestment. Disinvestment furthers flight to the suburbs and population decreases in urban centers. The economic recession of 2008, along with the loss of industries and population in rust belt regions like Central New York, have led to an increase in vacant properties in our region, especially Syracuse, over the past fifty years. This can only negatively affect the quality of life for residents who have stayed behind in these neighborhoods.

According to the United States Census, in 2023 Syracuse ranked 9 out of the largest 75 metropolitan statistical areas in the country for gross vacancy with a rate of 12.1 percent. In recent years there has been much work to help reduce the negative effects of vacant housing. Organizations such as the Greater Syracuse Land Bank, launched in 2012, return vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties back to productive use, helping strengthen the local economy and reinvest in our urban core. Syracuse is working to adopt and implement a new housing strategy to revitalize neighborhoods.

Whether you’re an experienced volunteer, an activist, a student, working professional, or a stay-at-home parent, there are roles both big and small that you can play to shape the future of the region.