Moreover, the condition of a community's housing stock is a strong indicator of the overall health of a community. Most housing in this county is satisfactory or better, but a significant minority of the county's housing stock is in poor condition, and the relatively low income of many county residents is a major obstacle to reaching the goal of decent housing for all. In some communities the percentage is much higher. One factor is the age of the housing stock.
Older housing tends to have more structural problems and systems failure than newer housing.
The correlation between low income and substandard housing is high, and is based on both federal census and County survey data. Subsidized units, especially for families, have very low vacancy rates. For example, it is not uncommon for qualified households to wait over a year to receive federal Section 8 rental assistance. Even non-subsidized rental housing vacancy rates are generally low, especially for affordable units or units in certain communities, such as the college towns, where the condition of rental housing is a continuing problem. Substandard housing is not simply a rental property problem.