Homes in Ithaca are rarely affordable to working people with modest to low incomes. We want all the people who work here to have a quality, healthy, and efficient living space. The need is still far greater than the housing available, and many people have to commute in from outside of Tompkins County to work here because they can not find decent housing they can afford here.
Here are a couple of charts showing the difficulties of affording a home, and finding affordable residences in Ithaca.
The data in the above charts is based on current loan conditions in each year charted, and is based on a typical INHS client debt load and a income that is 70% of the median income established for Ithaca in that year (our home buying clients are normally between 50-80% of the median). The average home sales price is used as a measure for purchasing because those homes in that middle selling range are generally standard (not fancy) homes that are in good working condition.
In 2012, for example, Median Income for Tompkins County, NY has been set at $73,800. The local "affordable" home buying clients' gross income might fall between $33,250 and $53,150 for example if they are a three person household, like a single parent with two children. The amounts qualifying incomes are lower for less people and higher for more family members.