Thread: Work Here, Live Elsewhere

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/art ... 73&cat=104

Work Here, Live Elsewhere
Immigrants have a hard time finding affordable housing.
By Lea Mae Rice
June 23, 2005

Photo by Lea Mae Rice/The Connection
Ismael Flores works on a house in the Windover Avenue historic district in Vienna. Weichert Realtors is selling the house for $1.7 million.

Walter Lopez moved to the United States from Guatemala eight years ago. He rents an apartment in Falls Church, even though most of the clients of his lawn-care business live in the McLean and Vienna areas. He’d like to get a house, he said, because his apartment only offers him one parking sticker. He uses the sticker for his work truck, and parks his car on the street.

In a way, Lopez’s story is an example of the two main growth trends in Fairfax County. Immigrants like Lopez are arriving in the area in great numbers. In 1990, almost 130,000 foreign-born residents lived in the area, and by 2000, this number had almost doubled. The 2003 community census recorded 280,000 foreign-born people living in Fairfax County. At the same time, housing development has boomed. Between 2003 and 2004, the number of houses in the process of planning or building increased by 20 percent, from 31,000 to 37,500.

But the median home price of new homes in the area is $300,000, and although income levels vary by community and by individual, most immigrants make less than the median household income of $80,000 per year, making this median home price far out of reach.

Immigrants face other difficulties as well. Current prices notwithstanding, said Lopez, to be able to get a house, he’d need papers. He has a tax ID, but is not a legal citizen. And even if he were one, it would be difficult to buy a house.

"It is very hard for immigrant communities to get mortgages, since they are a credit risk, and they do lack credit history," said Cecelia Espenoza, senior associate general counsel at the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

"Often, they have previously lived and saved on a cash basis," Espenoza said. "And now, rising interest rates mean that these families are being pushed out from the mid-market."

"We are running into affordability issues," said Amy Ritsko-Warren, communication and relations manager of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. "The new homes are going up, in general, though they’re not necessarily for high-income residents, they aren’t for low-income residents."

John McClain, senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, echoed this idea. "There is a lot more housing being built along Metro lines," he said. "Unfortunately, they are high-priced condos, and most of the people moving into them are young, single, or couples, professionals. That housing is not affordable [for immigrants.]"

THE RISING PRICE of local housing is a direct cause of immigrant flow into communities farther out from Washington, D.C.
"Latino communities are being displaced from the Arlington area and moving to Fairfax," said Espenoza. "The reason is, rent prices are increasing. Units that were affordable for multiple families are being turned over to condominiums. An apartment that was $900 to $1,100 is now $1,900 to $2,400.

"So, many people are moving out to Fairfax, where they can grab a place," said Espenoza. "They do this even though they know that in one or two years, they won’t be able to afford living there either."
Immigrants adapt to the high prices in one of two ways, said McClain, by traveling long distances from less expensive areas, like Lopez, or by having multiple families share one home.

"A lot of folks are pooling their money, and they are able to afford houses they wouldn’t traditionally be able to afford," said Karl Filippini, public policy associate and Web site manager for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "It’s an adaptive response."

A shortage of affordable housing, coupled with such heavy immigration, causes problems, said Filippini. "There is a dramatic increase in the use of public services such as roads or schools. At the same time, existing residents have a certain expectation of the density of their neighborhoods, but really they are living somewhere with a density like that of (Los Angeles, Calif.)"

THE BOOMING economy of the Northern Virginia area is facilitated in no small way by the huge amount of immigrants working in the service industry. In turn, increased construction of houses means more jobs for new immigrants, whether in construction, landscaping, cleaning or retail.
This interdependence is a delicate one. "The inability to have housing for all of our population, particularly the service work force, could at some point begin to put constraints on our economy," said McClain. "Companies will move further out."

But growth potential exists in a housing market geared specifically toward immigrant communities, said Filippini. "A good percentage of first-time homebuyers by 2010 are going to be foreign-born or first-generation Americans. There’s a tremendous growth right now in the housing market. Any market where there’s a growth potential, you’re going to see targets toward it."

Even so, said McClain, the disparity between the amount of new immigrants to Fairfax County and the amount of affordable housing is not a good thing. "The immigration populations and the foreign-born who have come here are an important part of our economy, and what’s happening with housing prices is making it very difficult for them to live anywhere close to where they work," he said. "It’s kind of a good-news, bad-news thing. We have a job for you, but we can’t give you a place to live."

WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE!!

People, there is NO QUESTION, that the new immigrant, legal or illegal, has NOT what it takes to be AMERICAN or build our NATION.

ALL THEY KNOW TO DO IS WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE!!

I sure would like to buy a house! I can't buy one because the mobile home park that I live in is now full of illegals and I can't get what I owe on my home because it has driven property value down! So I am STUCK!

Hey, can I whine?

If you are a citizen you can whine.

Immigrants face other difficulties as well. Current prices notwithstanding, said Lopez, to be able to get a house, he’d need papers. He has a tax ID, but is not a legal citizen. And even if he were one, it would be difficult to buy a house.

Curious, but this is the only mention of "not a legal citizen" in the article.
I have two questions for Lea Mae Rice:

Can't you spell the word ILLEGAL? Are the individuals in question LEGAL or ILLEGAL immigrants?

ohflyingone!! Yes, Yes, Yes!! You can whine all day long because you are an American Citizen, BUT....the point is.....you don't. Americans don't whine. We never have. The first time we've all probably whined in our lives is on this forum about this madness called illegal immigration and ending our nation....which to me....is not whining.....but standing up for our country and each other including future generations of Americans!!

When we complain or express outrage...is not for ourselves or our benefit but for our nation, our society, our citizens and the future of all.

Globalists WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE for money and break the law for money and bribe officials and I do believe now, certain courts, for money.

Illegal immigrants and excess immigrants through their advocates and the news media WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE for things they are legally or socially or even morally entitled to.

Politicians WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE for their special friends, for special favors to enrich their pockets.

SO, AMERICA....I'm proud of you!! When we stand back and look at all the WHINERS....they are not US. They are "them". The same "them" who could care less about the future of our nation, our society, or its citizens, or future generations. They are the "me"; and not the "we".

WE are the Americans.

And at this moment, I've never been prouder to be One with You!!