The housing squeeze header graphic
The supply of housing is desperately short of the need, driving up prices and leaving many in southeast Ohio priced out
A complex web of high construction costs, land prices, interest rates, skilled labor shortages, financing challenges and restrictive zoning have made it challenging to build housing of any kind — especially affordable units
Stories in this ongoing series
Photo of Amber and Regis Saxton
They’re comfortably middle-income, but southeast Ohio home prices leave them with few good options
Homebuyers in Athens County and throughout the region are caught in a market in which demand for homes far exceeds the supply and prices have risen sharply. Building more homes is the obvious answer, but it’s not that simple.
By David Forster
Photo of hole in bedroom wall
Tenants in Athens County live in squalor as markets and regulations fail to meet the need
Facing few regulations and little competition, some landlords rent out derelict properties with glaring health and safety problems. Tenants who try to fight back risk ending up homeless.
By Theo Peck-Suzuki
Photo of Christy Biehl at Marietta drop-in center
A town in southeast Ohio comes around to the idea of sheltering those experiencing homelessness
A Marietta drop-in center has shifted public sentiment, and city officials are now endorsing an overnight shelter. One man shares what it's like being homeless in a small town where everyone knows you.
By Theo Peck-Suzuki