Elderly Frederick County residents are struggling to downsize to smaller and more accessible places to live. The problem is choking the county’s housing stock and raising prices for younger people in need of housing as they look to start a family.

Karin Flom, Principal Planner for Livable Frederick, explained most housing units over the last 20 years have been built through planned unit developments (PUD). That means it was a developer who approached the county with an idea for new housing.

In 2008, the county introduced a policy that allowed developers to pay a fee in lieu of building moderately priced dwelling units, or MPDUs. Vinvcent Rogers, Director of the division of housing said that since the policy’s introduction, all developers have chosen to pay the fee.

Today, 80% of Frederick's housing stock is in single family homes, with Flom stating Frederick has a projected need for 50,000 new housing units by 2050. Roger said that without the requisite housing diversity, people can't meet their needs. “We know that it’s critically important for people to have more options between multi-family buildings and single family homes,” Rogers said. “By creating that supply, you are able to allow people to move through the housing life cycle in a way that's more conducive to where they are right now,”

Growing Older

Rogers clarified that, on average, a homeowner should spend no more than 30% of their income towards housing. Any more, and they may be considered housing burdened.

Replacing a roof, issues with the pipes, even radon contamination, these are all things homeowners may have to deal with, Rogers explained. However, he said that elderly residents may face unique challenges. “When you’re on a fixed income, and you can barely pay your typical housing costs, it becomes particularly challenging to be prepared for those incidents,” Rogers said. “And it might put you into housing instability if you have to put it on credit or take out some kind of loan to keep up with the repairs that are needed.”

Yet, even when more accessible housing is available, Rogers explained elderly residents often can't afford it. It’s possible for someone looking to buy a smaller home to pay more because newer mortgage rates can be more expensive, he said.

What this can result in is an older resident stuck in a house that is slowly becoming less accessible. Brad Petersen, Deputy Director of Aging and Independence, explained his department has worked with residents with mobility issues. This has meant some residents had no access to a shower or bathtub because they were located on the second floor of their home.

Starting a Family

According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age for a first time home buyer in the US reached a record high of 38 in 2024. CNBC reported that, in the same year, the share of first time home buyers reached the lowest it had ever been at 24%.

Even without a hard number, Rogers clarified he has seen the impact in Frederick. Students leaving college, some as young as high school, are having more and more difficulty finding a place to live. “We know that homeownership is the greatest source of wealth, especially for middle income households,” Rogers clarified. “So when you take that out of the equation for lower income people and younger people, it becomes even harder for them to get ahead.”

The average age of a first time mother rose to 27 in 2023, with a study showing women living in urban centers across the US largely affected. With things as expensive as they already are, Flom explained adding children to the mix can have an impact, whether a family has one or two income earners. “That’s adding on to your daily expenses that are both going to limit what you can put towards housing on a month to month basis, but also raising those down payments and making sure you have the savings for all those expenses…” Flom said.

Solutions

The county is exploring the idea of building affordable housing on its own land, Rogers explained. This includes a new development which is planned to go up near the county’s Prospect Center.

The county also has growth areas, Flom clarified, which are areas that may not be built out, but where plans are being put in place for new housing. While developers have received approval for those areas, Flom warned there’s not much land left.

One of the solutions Flom spoke of is known as the Housing Element, a plan - currently in the works - that looks at residential housing needs across the next 25 years, all the way out to 2050. Through this plan, the county might be able to change up how they normally do things. “One of the recommendations is to look at our zoning code and to see how we can diversify the housing types that are allowed,” Flom said.

Rogers explained there are discussions around changing how the fee in lieu works. He said Frederick is the only local county that allows developers to simply decide whether they want to pay their way out of building affordable housing.

One idea, he said, is to require developers to build a portion of the affordable housing and allow them to pay their way out of the other part.