Jersey City Facing Major Problems Due to Housing Shortage

Hudson County is made up of important cities, among which the most recognized and popular are: Bayonne, North Bergen, Hoboken, West New York, Kearny, Secaucus, Harrison, Guttenberg, East Newark, and Jersey City. Despite being a county currently known for being one of the safest in the country and one of the best counties to live, work, and do business, indicators suggest that this may not be the case in the future.

A recent study on the county’s real estate market revealed that the entire Hudson County is transforming into a dark and uncertain landscape in terms of housing. However, the study showed that this uncertainty and housing problem will hit Jersey City the hardest.

Although Jersey City’s administration has been implementing measures and strategies to help residents find affordable housing, it seems their efforts are in vain, and it is predicted that the city will face a severe housing crisis that will significantly affect both the city and its residents.

According to the city’s trends, despite the administration’s efforts to implement new housing, control prices, and meet housing demand, Jersey City is experiencing major social and structural problems that have not been adequately addressed and are creating significant challenges for the city’s development.

The study highlighted that Jersey City faces serious issues, including a large number of homeless people, overcrowded homes, rising unemployment, deteriorated public areas, damaged housing, and significant material losses due to constant flooding, which the city is highly prone to because of its geography. These factors formed the basis for the study’s conclusion that in the coming years, Jersey City may face a significant housing deficit.

For many years, Jersey City has been promoting construction, and with it, the number of properties built within its area has grown. However, the vast majority of these new properties were small homes, which gradually worsened the housing crisis as these properties failed to meet the high demand for housing among residents.

In addition to the lack of foresight in building homes to meet high demand, rental prices have risen to such an extent that residents are spending a significant portion of their income on housing, leaving them unable to meet all their needs.

To minimize the potential problems and needs Jersey City will face regarding housing, the study emphasizes the importance of the administration promoting the creation of more housing, focusing on middle-income individuals to somewhat alleviate the shortage and better meet the population’s demand.

Although both Jersey City and Hudson County have worked hard on housing construction in recent years, leaving little land for new developments, experts suggest that officials could repurpose the thousands of unused industrial and commercial properties to convert them into affordable housing, thereby addressing the housing shortage.

To make housing more affordable and accessible to the thousands of residents in need, the study highlights the importance of improving housing prices. To achieve this, experts suggest that both the state of New Jersey and New York should consider promoting and encouraging the construction of more housing and the repurposing of other types of properties to more easily meet the high demand.

Available Foreclosures: 

Jersey City: 85 homes available.

Hudson County: 120 homes available.

By Elías DaSilva | 19 de diciembre de 2024.