Housing in Idaho Falls is far from affordable for many residents. In my work as a financial wellness expert and personal finance editor, I suggest this rule of thumb: plan so your housing costs don’t exceed 30% of your income.
Median household income in Idaho Falls is about $63,000 (latest U.S. Census Bureau data). Once you do the math, 30% of that monthly income is $1,575.
- The median price of homes sold in Idaho Falls is about $382,000, according to Realtor.com. Figuring a 3.5% down payment (FHA requirement) to finance $368,630, and paying a 6.38% rate (Bankrate’s Idaho average), a monthly payment for principal and interest on a 30-year mortgage is about $2,300.98.
- Median rent is $1,200 a month, according to rental platform Zumper. A three-bedroom unit averages about $1,500.
Buying a home is beyond affordable for many Idaho Falls families. A family just barely meets this rule—if they can find an “average” three-bedroom rental. The complaint, of course, is that many of the new apartment developments charge rents above the average. Indeed, the new apartments at Cloudveil cost just over $1,700 for two-bedroom units.
What about a single person earning the median per capita income of around $30,400 who has $760 to spend on housing? The average one-bedroom cost of $850 is out of reach for many people. And don’t even think of finding a one-bedroom in one of the newer apartment complexes, like Riverwalk, where the rent is $1,299 for a one-bedroom.
If the policy goal in allowing variances and PUDs was to create affordable housing, it has largely failed up to this point.
Impact fees are a good thing, and the developers who profit from these complexes should help pay for the roads, shared public safety resources and other amenities so taxpayers bear less of the burden. However, these same impact fees might negatively affect affordable housing initiatives like Habitat for Humanity’s Petersen Place. While some developers are creating PUDs with unit purchase prices of $300,000 to $350,000 and obtaining variances to circumvent requirements, actual affordable housing efforts are pushed aside.
Providing a break for communities that offer affordable housing and requiring developers to set aside a certain percentage of units for affordable housing might help. For now, we have 1,500 more available housing units than households (according to Point2Homes data), and costs still strain household budgets.
I understand city leaders are considering some of these solutions, but for the few of us who raised this before, it’s frustrating. And for everyone else who is just learning about all this, it’s a good reminder to get involved before things reach the breaking point. I’m glad we didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater this recent election, but conversations with my parents (my dad did extensive research and inspired this column) and scores of budget-strapped locals indicate that attention to these issues should be a priority for our elected officials.
Miranda Marquit is a nationally recognized financial wellness expert, writer, editor, speaker and podcaster. She is the vice chair of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.