New Harvard Study Takes Note of Ongoing Housing Affordability Challenges; Urges Federal Action3/28/2022 Lower-rent housing continues to be more elusive in several states across the country, contributing to a growing affordability gap, says a new Harvard University study. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, the number of low-rent units has declined by more than 40% in seven states, and as much as 50% in the big growth states of Colorado, Nevada, and Texas. The nation’s largest states are also seeing fewer low-income options than ever before, with such units off by 39% in Florida, and 24% in both California and New York. The report, America’s Rental Housing 2022, also notes that rents for upscale apartments have increased by an unprecedented 14% in 2021; with moderate quality apartments witnessing a roughly 11% uptick in the same time period. Both of those categories, from 2011 to 2019, saw increases on average in the 4% range. In fact, upscale apartment projects, due to current market trends, are only expected to increase for the foreseeable future. “While the growing demand of higher-income households in the rental market has propped up demand in recent years, it has also fueled competition with moderate and lower-income households for housing especially in supply-constrained areas,” says the report. That demand, in turn, has “contributed to the shortage of 1.5 million rental units that are both affordable and available to households making up to 80% of the area median income.” For those making below the area median income, the shortage of affordable and available housing is now above the 6.8-million-unit mark. The report additionally notes that the country has witnessed a marked increase in the reinvestment of aging rental stock, an investment jumping from $43 billion in 2009 to some $79 billion two years ago. Noting that the Biden Administration has pledged itself to increasing affordable housing at the federal level, the report concludes: “By creating a comprehensive, well-funded housing safety net, the nation has the opportunity to pull millions of households out of poverty, address longstanding inequities in housing delivery, and ensure that every household has access to a decent and affordable home.” By Garry Boulard
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