Affordable Housing in Greenville County, South Carolina
Madison Eichhorn and Geoffrey Habron, Ph. D.
Furman University, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences, Greenville, SC 29613
Abstract
Housing affordability is a significant issue in Greenville County, South Carolina. Sustainability and housing are correlated through many different frameworks. Raworth’s doughnut, a framework outlining sustainable development, labels housing under the social foundations for safe and just humanity. The Sustainable Development Goals include reduced inequalities and sustainable cities and communities. However, the housing affordability crisis cannot be solved before answering three key questions. First, what is classified as affordable housing? Second, what is the availability and accessibility of affordable housing in Greenville County? Lastly, what resources are located near affordable neighborhoods? To address these questions, I use Excel to evaluate housing sales data from the past 5 years. From the Greenville County single-family housing sales data, the median sale price of a home in 2016 was $192,000 compared to $240,830 in 2020. In fact, in 2016, 19.12% of homes sold below $120,000 compared to 7.43% in 2020. Additionally, the median price per square foot of homes has increased from $97.05 in 2016 to $123.41 in 2020. This increase proves housing prices are rising, which creates problems for long-term and new residents. Coupled with increasing population, up 11% between 2013-2018, Greenville County’s housing struggles to keep up. An affordable house in Greenville should account for no more than 30% of the area median income (AMI). In Greenville County, only 19,300 houses fall between 0%-30% AMI levels. The lack of affordable housing in Greenville County will only continue to get worse unless solutions are found.
Methods
Figure 1. Research Questions
Results
Table 1. Greenville County Parcel Sales. Change in price from calendar year 2016 to 2020. Data were collected from Greenville County GIS website.
Figure 2. Brief overview of data collection and analysis methods for each research question. These steps were used throughout the entire research period.
Discussion
Acknowledgements
This project was made possible by the Furman Undergraduate Research Office, Furman Institutional Review Board, Dr. Geoffrey Habron, Sam Hayes, Catherine Lippert, the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, and the Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Science Department. Thank you all for the extra support and help during this study.
Figure 3.
Figure 3. Median Home Value in Greenville County (2019). Gradually symbolized data reflecting the median home value by U.S. Census Tract in Greenville County.
Figure 4. Median Home Value (2019) in Greenville County in Relation to Grocery Stores. Gradually symbolized data reflecting the median home value by U.S. Census Tract in Greenville County layered with grocery stores.
| 2016 | 2020 | Percent Change |
Average Sale Price | $220, 569.04 | $281,606.86 | 27.67% Increase |
Median Sale Price | $192,000 | $240,830 | 25.43% Increase |
% Below $120,000 | 19.12% | 7.43% | 61.14% Decrease |
% Between $120,000 - $190,000 | 30.5% | 20.30% | 33.44% Decrease |
% Above $190,000 | 50.36% | 72.52% | 44.00% Increase |
Average Price / Sq. Foot | $101.56 | $132.51 | 30.47% Increase |
Median Price / Sq. Foot | $97.05 | $123.41 | 27.16% Increase |
Figure 5. Frequency of Codes in Greenville Documents. Coded qualitative data from 2020 Greenville County news sources and documents reflecting key issues surrounding housing. Numbers reflect how many times each code appears in labeled document.
Figure 6. Doughnut of Social and Planetary Boundaries (Kate Raworth, 2017)
Housing costs in Greenville County have been increasing steadily over the past five years as proven by the Greenville County GIS Website data. In Greenville, the median sale price has increased by approximately 25% since 2015. While home prices are increasing, the availability of homes under $120,000 has decreased by over 60%, making it hard for individuals in the market for an affordable home. Over the same period, the median income has only increased 16.13%, which has not kept pace with increase in housing prices. These increasing prices are exacerbating social issues such as access to housing, as depicted in Kate Raworth’s doughnut. The social foundations are depicted to create a safe and just space for humanity to thrive in while keeping the environment healthy. Unfortunately, however, housing is less than halfway met and will continue to lack until other social boundaries are also met.