Affordable housing cost skyrockets in Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI – The local housing market is pushing the ceiling for affordable home prices higher, experts say — some seeing as much as a 32 percent increase.

New guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) show the highest price point for affordable, newly constructed single-family homes at $200,000 — up from the 2014 limit of $151,905.

The highest price point for existing affordable homes increased by nearly 13 percent, from an upper limit of $134,000 to $151,000.

Those prices were determined by Federal Housing Administration mortgage data, and are intended to reflect 95 percent of median purchase prices in Corpus Christi, according to HUD.

Meanwhile, income limits for low-income households — those that earn 80 percent of the area median income, and would be eligible for affordable housing homebuyer programs — increased by nearly 6 percent, across the board.

A family of four earning $42,100 would be considered at the top of the low-income threshold last year; this year, that figure increases to $44,500.

The new guidelines would apply for homebuyer programs administered by the City of Corpus Christi, which have traditionally offered $20,000 as a deferred, forgivable, zero-interest loan for a down payment for eligible, low-income applicants purchasing a home within the HUD-defined ranges.

Read more at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.