Housing is one of life’s necessities.

Quality housing – whether for rent or for purchase – that willattract people who want to live here is one of the necessities tothe future of our area.

For young people starting out on their own or the relativelyyoung who’ve moved to this area to make a new start, finding nice,affordable shelter can be a challenge.

Many employers understand the difficulties their new employeesface in overcoming that obstacle. Oftentimes, it’s a co-worker,family or church connection that provides a temporary answer to thehousing question.

Later, finding more permanent housing that is suitable to one’stastes, lifestyle and income level can also be a problem. Area realestate agents try hard to address those issues for their clients,many of whom find happiness in their new surroundings.

A good selection of housing options would make agents’ jobs alittle less challenging by increasing the chances of matching homewith homeseeker.

Care must be taken, though, when developments are pursued.

Some proposed developments meet with opposition from thesurrounding neighborhoods, whose residents often cite traffic,safety and other concerns in pursuing their challenge. Thoseconcerns are justified when a proposed development is out ofcharacter with the surrounding environment.

Some other developments, however, have the potential not only tofit well in their surrounding areas but also to augment theneighborhood’s overall quality. These kinds of developments – onceevidence of their value has been firmly established – should beencouraged.

In addition to creating housing for first-time seekers, anotherbenefit of these developments is the positive side-effect inopening up other housing options for those wanting or needing achange.

Homeowners wanting to downsize often leave behind larger homesthat become available to meet the needs of growing families. IfBrookhaven is to fully capitalize on its Certified RetirementCommunity status, smaller, patio-style homes must be available forretirees looking to move here.

The net effect of promoting and developing quality housing is alocal real estate inventory that is able to meet the needs of acommunity and its citizens.

As our area makes strides toward bringing in new business andindustry and their accompanying employees, having that availablehousing inventory is a necessity that cannot be ignored.