Despite 238 listings of unsold residences in DeKalb, the city council recently approved a project proposal that will put 644 more on the market soon.

Many of the new residences will be luxury apartments, even though many homes still remain on the market at middle-class price range, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors’ Web site.

Donna Gorski, 4th Ward Alderman, voted in favor of the project proposal that also includes hotels and commercial buildings expected to bring a ‘live, work and shop’ populous to the city of DeKalb.

“Sho-deen wouldn’t be building if there wasn’t a market,” Gorski said. “The new development is quite different than the majority of rental units.”

Ronald Naylor, DeKalb 5th Ward Alderman, voted against the proposed project for the luxury apartments because the proposed areas for the apartments were previously proposed as areas meant for commercial buildings.

Naylor said there could be some impact that the struggling economy and housing market could have when it comes to leasing all of the new residences but didn’t know enough to say there would be a direct correlation.

Todd Burghardt, president of the DeKalb Area Association for Realtors, said those who rent higher priced apartments are likely to later buy homes which would increase the amount of buyers in the market.

The approved project targets high-class home buyers and comes as 345 homes remain on the market due to foreclosure in DeKalb County, said County Clerk Sharon Holmes.

Unemployment in Illinois is rising faster than the national average, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s Web site.

The struggling housing market also has buyers on the decline, though there are those still looking for a home.

“There’s definitely buyers looking for an incentive to get into the market,” said Mary Schaefer, director of communications of the Illinois Association of Realtors.

President George W. Bush recently signed into law housing stimulus incentives meant to stabilize the housing and mortgage market, according to a DeKalb Area Association of Realtors news release.

The incentives offer assistance to those who are struggling with their payments but not for those who have already lost their homes.

A one-time tax credit is also only available for first-time home buyers whose income is less than $75,000 per year, the news release said.

Families who have faced foreclosure are seeking temporary housing at Hope Haven, which has two homeless shelters located at 1145 Rushmoore Drive and 965 Dresser Court in DeKalb.

For the past year, the shelter has had to turn people away, said Lisa Seymour, a transitional housing coordinator at Hope Haven. She said the housing crisis has left Hope Haven swamped.

“We have to tell people we can no longer do anything,” she said. “It makes us frustrated.”

Currently, there are five families on the waiting list to get a room at Hope Haven. The shelter can only house 12 families at a time. On Sept. 8 alone, they received four more requests for shelter. Three calls were from families and one from a single person, Seymour said.

While DeKalb County provides for much of Hope Haven’s funding, Seymour said there is much more the government can do to help with the housing situation. She said she often tells people to become registered voters so they can vote for a candidate that will provide them more assistance.

Seymour said getting families government assistance is an already lengthy process because of the paperwork involved. Hope Haven does its own research with government assistance. While there is some local and national aid available and the shelter provides rental assistance, housing prices are still too high to help homeless families find affordable housing, she said.