A recent Redfin report found New Jersey home buyers need between $56,000 and $94,000 more than they earn to afford an average house. The gap between actual income and the income needed to afford a home in New Jersey is 2.5 to four times worse than the national average. 

The federal government says a household is cost-burdened if it spends more than 30% of its gross income on housing, and severely cost-burdened if it spends more than 50%. The share of income needed to afford a home in the New Brunswick area is 43.7% and it’s 54.6% in Newark, according to Redfin.

Trenton Democrats’ plan to attack the housing crisis is government-mandated overdevelopment, while Assembly Republicans want to lower New Jersey’s costs of living and taxes. 

“We need to help more people in New Jersey without jamming more development down every community’s throat,” said Assemblyman Paul Kanitra when a bill creating more affordable housing bureaucracy came to the floor for debate. 

The share of affordable listings in the New Brunswick and Newark markets is only 23.8% and 17.8%, respectively, while the average sale price in the state is nearly $600,000.

“Municipalities’ budgets and resources will suffer while government-mandated overdevelopment increases the costs of living for residents. The Legislature needs to focus on making New Jersey more affordable instead of forcing taxpayers to subsidize more housing developments,” Assemblyman Alex Sauickie said.

Renters are also facing increasing burdens in New Jersey, where they pay the fifth-highest costs in the nation. The average monthly rent in the state is about $2,413. 

Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips sponsors a bill (A2656) increasing the amount of rent payments that contribute toward property taxes from 18% to 30%, allowing renters to deduct more on their income taxes. 

“We can’t let people end up on the streets,” argued DePhillips. “The state has an ability to help people keep a roof over their heads. It seems purely partisan to me that Democrats haven’t provided significant long-term relief to renters based on widely accepted standards of what is affordable for the average person.”

Read the Redfin report on housing affordability here. 

Photo: A multi-family home for sale in Newark is listed at $569,900.