In researching WHO can afford to buy a house or duplex in Shorewood, the best breakdown of the various criteria that may be relevant in the planning of any type of incentive program I found was at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States

and all the information contained in this posting (parts taken directly in italics) is from that web publication.

I think it would be fair to say that Shorewood schools and their economic viability  are (and have)  been a major concern to the residents of Shorewood, and are always listed as a concern in relationship to the various tax/building/planning incentives, conceived by the Village Board and its appendage bodies. 

The major concern with Shorewood schools and their continued independent existence is directly affected by the number of students enrolled. 

And the number of students enrolled in  Shorewood's schools, is directly affected by the population mix --- and by the percentage of that population mix that is within the normal child bearing years --- and which has the financial resources to buy property in Shorewood.

In my previous posting, I pointed out that a minimum household income of $79,000 was needed to come into Shorewood, at the lowest entry level cost of buying, which is a median priced  duplex --- living in one unit while renting out the other unit to subsidize the costs.

In order to afford the median cost single family house in Shorewood, a household income of $110,000 is necessary.

Per the "Age of Householder" information below (assembled from the U.S. Census Numbers by the web publication listed above) - the highest median household income age group is between the ages of 45 and 54 --- well past the biological clock for giving birth, and assuming a prime childbirth age of 30 years (my assumption), the children in these households would range from 15 to 24 years of age. 

The age group between 35 and 44, which would be a good prime age group for the likelihood of having school age children (my assumption), has a median income of $56,785 --- which is also well below our threshold of $79,000 noted above for base entry level buying in Shorewood. 

As the median income means that half are above that number, and half below that number --- not even ½ of the age group between 35 and 44 can find affordable housing in Shorewood as the lowest entry level buyers.

Age of householder

Household income in the United States varies substantially with the age of the person who heads the household. Overall the median household income increased with the age of householder until retirement age when household income started to decline.^[24] The highest median household income was found among households headed by working baby-boomers.^[24] Households headed by persons between the ages of 45 and 54 had a median household income of $61,111 and a mean household income of $77,634. The median income per member of household for this particular group was $27,924. The highest median income per member of household was among those between the ages of 54 and 64 with $30,544. The group with the second highest median household income, were households headed by persons between the ages 35 and 44 with a median income of $56,785, followed by those in the age group between 55 and 64 with $50,400. Not surprisingly the lowest income group was compromised of those household headed by individuals younger than 24, followed by those headed by persons over the age of 75. Overall households headed by persons above the age of seventy-five had a median household income of $20,467 with the median household income per member of household being $18,645. These figures support the general assumption that median household income as well as the median income per member of household peaked among those households headed by middle aged persons, increasing with the age of the householder and the size of the household until the householder reaches the age of 64. With retirement income replacing salaries and the size of the household declining, the median household income decreases as well.^[24]

Population Diversity by Race

In the same web publication, the chances for diverse homeownership in Shorewood is even less likely, with Black households having a median income of a little less than $30,000 per year, and Hispanic household being just a little over $30,000.

In conclusion --- if Shorewood truly wants to be a Diverse Community --- as measured by Income and Race --- we need to concentrate our Residential Incentive Programs to provide Affordable Housing for those groups !

In future posts, I will propose some ways that I think will help in achieving those objectives --- and I hope that readers will offer their suggestions also.

According to stories in the Current Issue of  ShorewoodNow (http://www.shorewoodnow.com/) , the Shorewood Village Board is contemplating a new loan program targeting residential housing. 

As reported by Dave Fidlin -- staff writer :

" outlined in a draft document, the village would disburse as much as $360,000 in loans to nearly 40 home owners if the program is enacted. Applicants must own and live in the homes to qualify for improvement loans.

Loans would be offered in one of four categories: down payment assistance for a single family or duplex, a loan for converting a duplex to a home, attic improvements and exterior maintenance.

Trustee Margaret Hickey said at a board meeting this month that a good target population for the loans would be elderly residents on fixed incomes who sometimes find it difficult to obtain bank loans.

"It's going to be a pilot program," Trustee Dawn Anderson said. "We're going to have to have some faith that the eligibility requirements will work."  "

The Loan Program as described above, in my opinion, is seriously flawed, and will result in the loss of a lot of affordable housing in Shorewood, and will adversely affect the enrollment in the Shorewood Schools.

There is no question that Shorewood needs to work on improving its housing.  When I ran for the Village Board in the last election, I made this issue a prominent point in my campaign.  I especially decried that the Village Board was focusing on the "business environment" in Shorewood --- including a Business Loan Program that would provide up to $50,000 in unsecured loans to businesses....

Unfortunately, at the time, my opponents Phinney and Eckman, and other Village Board members such as Anderson and Hickey did not agree, preferring to concentrate on ineffective business programs, and large grandiose expenditures, such as the multi million dollar Streetscaping.

An obviously logical question  would be, if I was proposing housing improvement programs just a few months ago,  why am I criticizing the program that is now being floated out for consideration ?

The program that I proposed would "enhance" the existing housing stock, making it more efficient, up to date, and  appealing for both buyers and renters. 

But I did not propose that we change the character or nature of the housing that currently exists.  Encouraging the transformation of existing duplexes to single family homes, will drastically reduce the population of Shorewood, and make Shorewood more un-affordable for young families - especially the kind that have school age children.

The program I proposed concentrated upon the infrastructure of the existing housing, which is rapidly becoming obsolescent - with outdated electrical, plumbing and heating. 

The program being touted now by the Village Board, concentrates on cosmetics and attics --- not the features, in my experience as a Realtor, that are of the greatest concern of school age families.

Encouraging the transformation of duplexes (which Shorewood has more of per capita than any other community in Wisconsin) into single family homes, will price most families with school age children out of the market !

Over the next week or so, I will be making postings that examine the affordability of housing in Shorewood , and the differences in costs and demographics in relation to renters and buyers of single family homes and duplexes.