Salem Mayor Isn't Sure She Could Buy Her Home At Current Prices

SALEM, MA -- Mayor Kim Driscoll and her husband Nicholas bought their Glenn Avenue home for $385,000 in 2003, according to property records. The four bedroom, two bathroom single family house has 2,983 square feet of space and is now assessed at $453,000. If Driscoll was in the real estate market in 2018, she's not so sure she'd be able to buy the same house.

"Pretty sure I could not afford to buy my current home in Salem today based on the prices I see houses going for in the current market....but totally understand why so many people LOVE Salem and are interested in moving here or staying here in bigger digs," Driscoll said in a Facebook post Monday. The post included a real estate listing for a three bedroom, two bath house with 1,903 square feet of space and an asking price of $515,000.

It may have been an exaggeration on Driscoll's part: following a $30,000 raise last year she earns $150,000 annually. Realtor.com estimates the mayor's house would be priced at $585,900 if it went on the market today, well above the median listing price of $383,900 for Salem. And the Driscolls also own a two-family house on Charles Street that they purchased in 1992 for $129,500. That property is now assessed at $403,900. But the mayor's sentiment is clear: the real estate market is seller-friendly in Salem these days.

Housing costs were the top concern identified by Salem residents in a progress report issued in February by Imagine Salem. But the ad-hoc committee's report noted that there is not a consensus on the best way to make sure people earning average wages will continue to be able to afford to live in the city.

"While this broad goal resonated throughout the Imagine Salem process, there is not agreement within the community on how to achieve it. Some propose emphasis on student housing, while others would like to focus on housing for empty nesters. Many find family housing to be the city's greatest housing need. Some residents excitedly propose experimentation with micro-housing units at high densities. Others would like a moratorium on condominiums in favor of maintaining rental opportunities.," the report's section on housing noted.

The rising housing costs have been particularly burdensome for renters. More than 50% of Salem households that rent have housing costs that are 30% or more of total household income, according to Census Data. Households that pay more than 30% of total household income to rent are considered "rent burdened." In 2015, the city issued a report projecting that Salem would need an additional 1,200 multifamily units and 210 single family units by 2020.

While Salem residents have differing views on what is causing the rising cost of housing, Imagine Salem's report suggested there may be some overlap in solutions.

"A lack of student housing, for example, pushes some students (living as roommates) into housing that might otherwise be a family home—exacerbating the perceived shortage of family housing units. A focus on either student or family housing supply would ease this competition for space. However, a focus on single-family housing— at the expense of other housing types— would likely only increase competition for housing and continue to increase in housing costs," the report noted.

Read the full Imagine Salem Progress Report. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).