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Study Says Costs Push Montgomery Firefighters Out of County
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The county's median household income is $84,000. A study by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission released last month found that families earning Montgomery's median income have shrinking housing options.
Within a few years, the researchers predicted, the median annual household income will not be enough to support the purchase of at least half the previously occupied townhouses on the market, which last year had a median sales price of $274,000.
The median price of a new townhouse was $415,000 last year, while the median price for a previously occupied single-family home was $450,000.
New single-family houses had a median sales price of $660,000 last year, and researchers expect them to top $1 million about 2008 if real estate trends continue.
"It's just a shortage of housing," said Norman Dreyfuss, a real estate developer and co-chairman of tomorrow's summit.
Besides featuring speeches from Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the conference will explore ways to increase the county's housing supply, which could lead to denser neighborhoods and taller buildings.
The discussions are coming too late for Marc Worton, a Montgomery firefighter who has a base salary of $64,000.
When he and his wife had their third child two years ago, the family outgrew its Germantown townhouse, so he began looking for a single-family home.
"We didn't have the room and looked around Montgomery and obviously couldn't afford to live in the house we needed for a family of five," said Worton, 34, who purchased a four-bedroom house near Hagerstown, Md., for $179,000.
