Affordability
Documenting the Long-Run Decline in Low-Cost Rental Units in the US by State
Housing affordability has been a growing concern across the US over the past three decades. Low-income renters are particularly impacted by diminishing low-cost supply, as evidenced by a strong correlation at the US state level between the extent of losses of low-cost rentals and rising housing cost burdens for low-income households between 1990 to 2017....
A Home Builder Perspective on Housing Affordability and Construction Innovation
The backdrop for the HIVE (Housing Innovation Vision Economics) Home Builder Survey was a shortage of housing and a serious housing affordability challenge – some would call it a crisis – in many parts of the nation. By surveying top single-family and multifamily builders around the United States, it was possible to identify key issues of interest to the homebuilding industry....
PRO Neighborhoods: Innovative Strategies for Affordable Housing
This brief describes five novel and replicable programs that are providing housing for low- and moderate-income Americans....
Strategies for Sustainable Growth in Community Land Trusts
While there has been significant research on the formation and impact of Community Land Trusts (CLT), less has been written on either the obstacles that have stymied the growth of existing CLTs or the strategies used by the handful of CLT leaders who have significantly expanded their group’s housing portfolios....
Estimating the Gap in Affordable and Available Rental Units for Families
While we typically think of family households as homeowners, renters are more likely than homeowners to have children in their household. However, migration, development, and tenure trends over the last decade have affected the availability of rental housing suitable for families. For low-income households with children, finding an affordable, right-sized, and safe unit can be a significant challenge....
Measuring Housing Affordability: Assessing the 30 Percent of Income Standard
The 30-percent of income standard is a widely used and accepted measure of the extent of housing affordability problems across the country. While simple and easy to implement, the measure is not perfect. The limitations of the 30-percent standard have long been recognized: its rigid uniformity amidst a diverse and ever-changing array of affordability challenges raises questions about its validity over time and across markets and household types. ...