Albany County is implementing two new initiatives to address the housing shortage and support people looking to purchase their first home.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and the county legislature will be seeking proposals for a qualified individual or organization for the Albany County First-Time Homebuyer Navigator Program.
"We did RFP out into the community to see if there's an organization out there that people can go to, that can navigate that," said McCoy. "That can talk them off the ledge when they're getting nervous and trying to figure it out. And we made $240,000 available for this position in helping people get to their first home. As we know, interest rates have gone up. They've come down maybe just a tad, and it's more and more difficult. And that's something I got to say that the legislature and my office have been laser focused on. Homebuyership, you know, giving people the opportunity to buy a house, making it affordable. And how do we do that? And this is, like we've said, this even with the College of St Rose, this is one step of many announcements that hopefully we're going to make together in a partnership to figure it out."
McCoy says today's average homebuyer needs to earn a minimum $118,000. The navigator will mainly assist low- and middle-income residents, according to the county, and will also focus on the process of rehabbing dilapidated homes.
"And even people that are making great salaries. And you think about people, you know, students that get out of college, they're so in debt, you know, with the college bill they're paying, or they got to buy their first car, and the monthly payment, the insurance on cars is through the roof. They can't, even though they might be making $120,000 they can barely make rent after paying all the bills out. There's something we got to figure out. You know, home ownership, it was really huge. In 2021 there was over 7 million homes that were sold in the United States. And it's dropped, you know, and it continues to drop,” McCoy said.
County Legislature Chair Joanne Cunningham, a fellow Democrat, announced a new local law will be introduced in April to provide a partial real property tax exemption for residents who construct accessory dwelling units or ADUs on existing residential properties. Cunningham, of Bethlehem, says the local law would be effective January 1st if passed.
According to the county, the exemption will apply to the increase in assessed value of at least $3,000. It will be capped at $200,000. The resulting increase in the assessed value of eligible property is fully exempt for five years and then partially exempt over the following five years.
"So this proposal that we are unveiling and announcing today, which again, will go through the legislature's committee process and then voted on the floor, will incentivize, through the tax code, the building of these accessory dwelling units," said Cunningham. "And it's a great option for older people who want to be with their families, and a great option for them to have kind of segregated space. And the other thing it does, and I think this is really important to note, is it also, by allowing and facilitating and incentivizing that, you're also freeing up housing for other folks that need it in Albany County, which is also smart, we have a housing shortage here."
In a separate effort, the Albany Common Council is discussing a resolution that would eliminate single family home zoning in the city, allowing property owners to build accessory dwelling units next to existing homes on their properties.
The county’s RFP for the First-Time Homebuyer Navigator will formally be opened to the public for submissions on Thursday. Proposals must be received by April 11th.
