Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in our part of town think some of the best things about it are the stable neighborhoods, the well-built old homes, and the mature trees and general lived-in look.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones who feel that way. If you take a look at real estate ads, whether out of idle curiosity or as a serious prospective buyer, get ready for a case of sticker shock. It seems like most of the places you’d really want to consider living in are far on the north of the six figures.

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And that’s okay, or better than okay, if you’ve already settled into your dream house or if you’re lucky enough to probably afford something nice when you do decide to buy. But what about the thousands of people in Dallas who’d love to purchase a decent single family house, but either because of income level or credit history or both,not to mention the huge hurdle of coming up with a big down payment, are shut out of a large part of the housing market?

We’re not talking about charity cases, either. Often these are the people who patrol our streets, fight our fires, teach our kids, nurse the sick and perform many of the other crucial but underpaid jobs we take for granted.

Here are a few statistics: as of last summer, the median price for existing homes in Dallas was over $135,000. Between 1995 and 2000, the price of owner-occupied homes in the area, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, increased up to 27 percent. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation says housing prices increased 20.9 percent in the Dallas area from 1995 to 1999. And, about 30,000 Dallas households pay over 50 percent of their income in housing, with well over half the city’s population living in rental housing.

Too bad for them?

Maybe, but people who already own their homes benefit from having more homeowners around them. Most people who study housing issues believe that when people become homeowners, they tend to become more committed to that community, the tax base goes up, neighborhoods and schools stabilize and improve, and business gain a more stable employment base. In fact, a new buzzword for sometimes unfairly-disparaged affordable housing is “workforce housing” – that is, places affordable for the working people who form the backbone of the company.

The Mortgage Assistance program for first-time homebuyers could use more funding. City money to help build infrastructure helps lower costs for affordable housing development, as do development fee rebates. The City is participating in a land banking effort to try to get homesites into the hands of nonprofit community development organizations that will use them, and groups like the DAHC, Habitat for Humanity and the Real Estate Council are doing their own development or providing technical expertise and volunteers.

We have a long way to go, however, before every family with a steady income can ready afford to consider owning their own home. The City’s budget season is almost upon us, and fiscal times are tough for the public sector – but can we really afford not to step up our efforts on the issue?