EBR Housing Authority grows concerned as affordable housing gets harder to find

Originally published by BR Pround

Affordable housing is getting harder to find, and that has the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority concerned. Experts say not enough houses are being built. Meanwhile, with higher interest rates, fewer people are buying and selling homes.

“You’ll probably pay two to three hundred more in your monthly mortgage for the same house. Just because of the rise in interest rates. So yeah, it’s pushing the affordable rate out the window,” said Leo Desselle, Pennant Real Estate owner.

It’s putting a strain on residents looking for affordable housing. East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority CEO J. Wesley Daniels, Jr. said people are staying in assisted housing for longer than usual so those apartments can’t be turned over to help new applicants as quickly.

“It has taken a segment and a group of families and made housing unaffordable because of the increase in mortgage rates because of that. Now they have to continue to live in multifamily housing or rental housing,” said Daniels.

Some renters have been waiting months, some years, for help from the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority.

“And by like a year to two years before we get to where we need to be, you know, is everything you need, is a good thing to have when you got over two or three children,” explained Robert Bradley, a Baton Rouge resident.

Year Completed

Planned Fall 2022

Type

Senior | Units: 99

Management

Integral Property Management

Phone

225-923-8121

Cypress at Pinchback

501 Gardere Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70810

Located behind St. Jude off Highland Road, close to great shopping and restaurants this tranquil and modern new construction community offers modern one- and two-bedroom apartments for seniors 62 years and older. Apartments are ADA compliant and come with a dishwasher and washer and dryer hook-up. Amenities include an exercise room, computer room, elevators, community room, walking trail, community garden, small gathering/reading rooms on each floor and social, health, wellness, and educational activities programmed for active seniors.