ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Whether you read the headlines or know firsthand, it’s not a great time to buy a house. The reasons are pretty simple, says Shana Eubanks, the Habitat For Humanity of St. Charles County’s homeowner support manager.
“Two things – affordability and lack of housing,” Eubanks said.
Eubanks leads a program to help anyone in the region get prepared to buy a home when the time is right.
This program is separate from the Habitat For Humanity of St. Charles County’s homeownership program that helps families build a home. This readiness program is a series of workshops in person and over Zoom that teach people about topics like getting loan approval. The classes also use community experts to help potential homeowners create action plans.
It’s important now because the definition of affordability just isn’t what it used to be.
According to Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County, the average mortgage in the county was about $280,000 in 2020. The median rent was approximately $1,450. Undoubtedly the cost of living has increased during the last few years. Eubanks says in order for something to be considered affordable, the cost of rent or mortgage needs to be less than 30 percent of your income – numbers that are hard to match if you’re struggling to make ends meet.
“A lot of times we’re seeing people whose credit is decent, but what they can afford without being house poor is maybe $200,000 or $250,000,” said Eubanks. “That doesn’t exist. It’s just not in the market these days.”
Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County’s home readiness program is free, and it’s available to anyone living in the region, not just the county. It’s about building a path forward and building a great foundation.
Eubanks says she even worked with a woman who just wanted to help find solutions to her spending.
“But homebuyer readiness is open to anybody in the region who has a desire to be a homeowner at some point,” said Eubanks. “It doesn’t mean you want to purchase in the year. It doesn’t mean you want to purchase in two years. There’s no time limit on it. The goal of the program is to provide you resources to improve your situation now so that when the time is right for you and your family, you’re ready to purchase that home.”
There is a series of classes through the month of September at First Bank in St. Peters.