Squeezed by high prices, a growing number of Americans find shelter in long-term motels

“Families in this area have been pushed off the back of a housing market that has rocketed away from them faster than they can keep up,” said Adam Bush, CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. “These are now working families living in hotels on public assistance. They’re grocery store workers, certified nurse assistants, child care workers, restaurant servers and cooks, people making $16 to $20 an hour, who normally in this area would be able to find a modest rent somewhere, but those “The modest rents are gone now.”

At the same time, the housing supply in the area has been somewhat constrained by short-term rentals. Of the region’s 400,000 homes, about 13% are not occupied full-time, including about 6,000 homes regularly booked as short-term rentals on Airbnb and Vrbo, a 20% increase from before the pandemic, according to data from the analytics firm. We want.

“I just want that back”

Krajewski and her family began renting a three-bedroom apartment in 2017 for $1,000 a month in a house that had been divided into multiple rental units near downtown Kingston, where a growing number of trendy bars, restaurants and shops have opened to cater to the public. Crowd of second home owners and weekend visitors. It was a comfortable sum on her husband’s salary as a roofer and her income as a home health aide.

Then, at the end of 2021, Krajewski was notified that her rent would rise to $1,400 a month, beyond what she felt the family could afford. She began looking elsewhere, but was entering a housing market where she was seeing unprecedented levels of demand.

In Ulster County, home prices have risen more than 70% since the start of the pandemic, and now that’s the typical home included For $563,000, according to data from Realtor.com. At current interest rates, a family would have to earn about $120,000 per year to be able to afford this home with a 20% down payment on a 30-year mortgage — well above the average household of $85,000 income For those who live in the province.

As it becomes more difficult to buy a home, more families continue to rent, putting further pressure on the rental market. Median rents in Ulster County have risen 28% since 2020 to about $1,500 per month, according to rental website data. Zomber. A reconnaissance County officials found that the median advertised rent in Ulster County for a studio apartment was $1,086 per month last year, with two-bedroom units listed for $1,836 per month.

After weeks of searching for another location, Krajewski arrived empty-handed. With nowhere to go, the family was evacuated and placed in a shelter for homeless families by the county Department of Social Services.

After six months in the shelter and unable to find an apartment, the family moved in with Krajewski’s mother, where they lived for a year and a half. But eventually, this living arrangement became unacceptable and the family decided to separate, which they expected to be a temporary solution. Krajewski’s husband moved in with his mother, their teenage son joined him, and Krajewski and her daughters were placed in a hotel near the district.

Now, Krajewski is among more than 150 homeless adults and children living at the Kingston Hotel, once a destination for tourists seeking to enjoy the area’s mountains, rivers and forests. There are tricycles and upside-down scooters in the motel parking lot, strollers park outside the rooms, and kids hang out on the jungle gym and swing set in the motel’s courtyard.

There are so many children living at the hotel that school buses regularly stop there and local organizations have set up after-school programs to keep the children busy.