Affordable Workforce Housing and Workforce Housing – what’s the difference? With a mention by veteran developer Maxwell Drever

The critical workforce usually doesn’t have the purchasing power to buy housing in the area where they work explains Maxwell Drever. But accommodations must be made because a law enforcement officer that lives one hour from his workplace poses all sorts of problems.   

The good news is that creative ideas such as the one developed by affordable housing veteran Maxwell Drever can make the dream of living in near-luxury conditions close to the job come true, all for $500 per month!  

Affordable Housing: What is it?

There is no standard definition of affordable housing, and it is subjective. People have different affordability standards; something worth $500 per month may be reasonable for one person and not for the other.

Various factors determine a person’s affordability, including their occupation, income, expenses, etc. However, there are a few standards that officials use to determine average affordability. For example, the federal government considers a living space affordable when it consumes less than 30% of a family’s total income. This benchmark means that families earning $30,000 a year can afford to pay $700 monthly on housing. 

Workforce Housing- What is it?

Workforce housing generally refers to the homes reserved for essential workers in a given community. Historically, this workforce sector included teachers, firefighters, healthcare professionals, police officers, etc. These groups typically have earned less than the average income of their fellow citizens. So that these workers could live locally, workforce housing was provided to them for costs substantially under market value.

While this may seem like a manageable issue. It is a challenging one over the long term because there is no legal definition of who is an essential worker. Over the years, this issue has created overpopulation problems in many cities. 

Workforce housing vs. Affordable housing. Which is more important?

Without a doubt, affordable housing is more important. The reason for this is simply a function of supply and demand. And the numbers are frightening. It has been stated that seven million affordable housing units would need to be created to meet demand.

It turns out that Maxwell Drever has the solution which solves too many problems for us to list in this short article. But to name a few, the platform is environmentally friendly, financially viable, creates $500 per month apartments with luxurious surroundings, strengthens family ties, increases a community tax base, and more.

Bottom Line

While most people use the two terms interchangeably, they are different. Workforce housing is residence available and affordable for the local moderate and medium-income groups, while affordable housing refers to housing that families can afford with some assistance and subsidies.

The workforce housing group can include several people with different wages as per the average local wage rate. The group of workers/families who qualify for affordable is smaller than the workforce housing group.  It is because workforce housing may include some affordable units. And some market-rate units (that are still affordable because of local wage).

Understanding these basic differences can make it easier for professionals to make the right decision for their housing needs.