5 Cities Taking Steps to Improve Affordable Housing Access And Availability

June 20, 2017                     By: Saraf Ahmed, Bisnow National

A disproportionate number of high-end rental units coming online are not satisfying the mid- to low-end demand driven by working Americans who cannot afford extravagant homes and high rents.

This disparity is being exacerbated by a combination of factors, including rising contruction costs (the Engineering and Construction Index notes a 37% increase in the last 10 years). Also, approximately half of the country's renters are millennials under 30 whose average annual income ($40K) barely exceeds their average student debt ($35K).

The 11 biggest metro areas in the United States are oversupplied with apartments running at an average $8,500/month, despite the increase of 22M middle- and low-income renters from 2006 to 2014. Couple that increase with the student debt crisis and a steady drop in Class-B development, and you can understand why the U.S. is experiencing a severe affordable housing shortfall................Read More