A recent Heber City housing preference survey shows that, while most respondents would prefer to own a home in the Heber Valley, nearly a third pay over 30% of their income toward housing expenses already. The survey was sent to employees of Heber City, Wasatch County, Wasatch County School District, Midway City and Intermountain Health. Most (69%) live in Heber City. A total of 132 individuals marked their monthly housing costs between $1,501 and $2,100 per month. Out of 469 responses, 102 said they make between $95,001 and $115,000 per year. The second largest group said they make between $75,001 to $95,000 per year. In Utah, two working adults need to make a total of $109,231 per year before taxes to accommodate a family of four. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates an average family size of just over three people per household in Heber City.Survey results show that individuals prefer single-family dwellings above other housing types, most support deed restrictions for buying an affordable home, the majority of respondents have two cars per household and most (65%) say they are not willing to use public transportation. “We certainly aren’t New York City,” Tony Kohler, Heber City planning director, said. “If you don’t have a car you are definitely challenged.”With family sizes ranging from one to seven, 53 families report an Area Median Income (AMI) at 60% or less. Per capita income sits at $31,798. Kohler said that, for the individuals paying 30% of their income on housing costs, families are often overburdened. “That’s a problem, especially for lower-income people,” Kohler said. “Our goal is to try to use this so that we can help developers target housing … if you’re under 60% AMI, you’re probably not talking about ownership.”Jason Glidden, Mountainlands Community Housing Trust executive director, said that, most often, different AMI levels will require different strategies.“Ownership is a lot harder to do and requires a lot more money and subsidy to do that,” Glidden said. “Because there’s a lack of inventory at the affordable level, people aren’t leaving those homes. In a perfect cycle, you would have them being able to save up and move into the market.” Councilor Mike Johnston said that he built his Heber City home in 1999. Now, he said he would not be able to do the same thing. “If I did, I’d be strapped. I’d be paying 50% of my income for my house,” Johnston said. “I live here, and I’m comfortable, but I couldn’t pay a million-plus for my house.” Johnston, whose wife is a teacher at Timpanogos Middle School, said that most teachers who live in Heber Valley have been in the area for more than a decade and bought their homes before housing prices skyrocketed. “There’s about 6,000 people that commute to Wasatch County now every day. They’re dental hygienists and nurse practitioners and public works employees,” Johnston said. “I don’t think we can help everybody that works here get a place. But we have to concentrate at least on the teachers, county employees, city employees and health care employees.”But, as Councilor Yvonne Barney brought up, there is a group of individuals left behind in the survey: retail workers. Tori Broughton, store manager at Heber City’s Trek Bicycle store, said that she has had trouble keeping employees because they are unable to find housing. “I think that the housing up here is a huge barrier for folks and for me to find employees,” Broughton said. “I am really lucky at this moment because I have a really great team.”Broughton said that one employee travels from Pleasant Grove, another rents a basement in Heber City, and her service manager relies less on his income and more on his wife’s. The rest, she says, are high school kids. “They already live with their parents,” Broughton said. Like the respondents of the Heber City survey, Broughton said most would prefer to live in Heber City. According to Kohler, another notable factor is that individuals who have one child look for a three-bedroom home. Or, those with two children look for a four-bedroom home. “What that tells us is that they’re not happy with their housing or they’re thinking that their family is going to grow,” Kohler said. Heidi Franco, Heber City major, said that she is most concerned about housing for entry-level workers. “We want them to be here in our community for our police, our public works, our emergency response,” Franco said. “I’m kind of reassured that the amount of affordable housing we have coming down the pike for the 80% [AMI] is good. It’s hundreds of units at the 80% AMI. It’s just going to take a decade-plus to build.”The post Heber City housing costs prove challenging for individuals, families appeared first on Park Record.