TOLEDO, Ohio — There is a housing shortage nationwide that is also affecting the Midwest and more specifically, Toledo.
Home affordability declined in 81 metro areas across the country in the last four years, according to the National Realtors Association. Meanwhile, the total housing inventory in the country was down in December of 2019 compared to the previous year, which means there are fewer houses available for people to buy.
Besides, the Midwest saw house sales decline 1.6% from 2018 to 2019, according to the NRA.
And the impacts of home affordability and availability can be seen in the Toledo metro area. On Feb. 18, the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority closed its low-income public housing waitlist.
Community leaders said they felt leaving the list open was a disservice to people trying to get housing assistance since there were too many people on the list and not enough houses.
The closure includes all locations in the metro area and bedroom sizes.
By the time the list closed, there were nearly 3,000 people who had signed up for help.
According to LMHA leaders, some of the people on the list have been waiting since 2016. The group is working to solve the housing problem, but it's not a quick fix.
"One solution is, obviously to build. I know Collingwood Green, we just opened up a grand opening for Collingwood. So, that's one solution, to redevelop things and build more housing. But, that doesn't happen overnight," LMHA's Vice President of Asset Management Keon Jackson said.
Jackson said another solution is to educate people and apartment owners on low-income housing.
LMHA leaders said the closure of the list is temporary, but there's no clear date to when they could re-open the list either.
In the meantime, the housing authority is checking to make sure if those people on the waitlist are still in need of housing assistance.