INDIANAPOLIS — Finding a home in Indianapolis has gotten expensive.
According to the real estate website Redfin, home prices are up 46% in the last five years.
It is especially difficult for seniors to afford a place to stay. Many of them are getting squeezed by the housing shortage in Indiana.
According to data released by Posterity Indiana, growing number are considered "extremely low-income." In Indianapolis, that means their household lives off of a little less than $18,000 a year.
There are 58,000 seniors in Indiana who are living on that amount of money or less. About three quarters of them must pay more than half of their income in rent. That makes them “severely cost burdened"
Overall, there is a shortage of 139,000 affordable rental homes in Indiana. In Marion County, more than 11,000 housing units are needed to house the "extremely low-income" population.
City leaders are working to address the issue.
There is a plan is to put about 200 units on a vacant lot located south of E. 38th Street, between N. German Church and County Line Roads. The cottage style units would be for people 55 and older and priced at roughly $800 to $14,000 dollars in rent.
The developer, Kittle Property Group, says units all units are considered affordable, based on Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority standards.
They're asking the city for about $47,000 in tax breaks to do the project. If approved by City-County Council, the apartments could be available as early as next spring.