Housing Needs Assessment
Purpose
Planning Boards are required to analyze existing housing resources and address, in their Master Plans, the “current and future housing needs of residents of all levels of income of the municipality and region in which it is located, as identified in the regional housing needs assessment performed by the regional planning commission…” (RSA 674:2, III). The purpose of the Housing Needs Assessment is to provide basic information needed by Planning Boards for assessing their local housing supply.
Description
The Housing Needs Assessment covers all of the 51 incorporated towns and city within NCC’s planning region. Much of the data included in this report has been catalogued and categorized by town and by sub-regional groupings of towns called Labor Market Areas (or LMA).
The information within the report covers existing housing conditions in regards to housing growth, housing cost, the types of housing being constructed and the affordability of housing. The report contains data predicting the housing growth that will take place in the future, important information because it allows town leaders to know what is most likely to happen in their communities in the future. The report also contains demographic data, interviews with local housing officials, and affordable housing resources available to communities.
Timeframe
As stipulated by RSA 36:47 II, NCC is responsible for updating the region’s Housing Needs Assessment every five years and distributing it to communities free of charge. The most recent version was completed in December of 2004.
Related Services & Programs
Master Plans - A common theme of a local Master Plan is its concern for, and examination of, the character and quality of life within the community. The available supply, affordability, quality and type of a town’s residential housing stock can strongly affect this character and quality of life in dramatic ways. The Housing Needs Assessment gives communities the quantitative data they need when preparing their master plan update.