CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – It’s easy to find an expensive home but what’s much harder is finding something affordable.

“Greed and inflation have taken over, people put profit before their fellow human beings,” says Chris Kapp with the Cumberland County Housing Authority.

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Luxury homes are growing both in size and number, a stark contrast to what affordable housing advocates say they want and need.

Belinda Eigen, the Cumberland County Housing Systems Coordinator, says 38% of their renters are cost-burdened.

That doesn’t include dozens of residents on the wait list for county housing. Eigen says they’re short over 11,500 units.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle know affordability is a problem in the housing market.

Rep. Thomas Kutz (R-Cumberland) says the median cost of a home is in the range of $450,000.

“A lot of luxury rental units are making it tough for working-class Pennsylvanians to afford the cost of housing,” Kutz says.

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That’s something Governor Josh Shapiro mentioned in his February budget address, calling for $80 million to tackle the housing crisis.

“Unfortunately, it’s not enough but any amount helps,” says Eigen.

Kutz disagrees, saying red tape needs to be cut and “we need to get government out of the way rather than spend the money.”

Cumberland County officials worry there’s not enough time to reduce regulation and that, for the good of the county, help is needed now.

“When we have a housed and healthy society and community then the entire community
lifts up and we don’t have a tale of two cities in our own backyard,” says Kapp.

House Republicans have also put forth a set of bills they say will help with affordable housing.

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