overhead shot of papers laid out on a table

05.19.2022

The Affordable Housing Crisis—The Case for Local Investment

by

The housing affordability crisis is pervasive, but it can be solved with all hands on deck.

For a number of years, Virtus has pursued a Workforce Housing strategy based on the thesis that quality rental housing for the mass renter is vastly undersupplied nationwide. We have explored these topics as we examine the scope and major drivers of the housing affordability crisis, as well as the “binding constraint” keeping urban rental rates too high relative to wages for most Americans.

Now, the third volume of our Affordability series is updated for the post-COVID-19 environment and makes a case for public investment in this problem, whose fundamental drivers and societal effects are discussed in Volume 1 and Volume 2.

A Few of the Key Takeaways:

  • The post-COVID-19 economy has unmasked the pre-COVID-19 housing crisis.
  • Metros blessed with outsized economic growth likely have an equally outsized burden on the typical renter.
  • The problem is historical and cumulative.
  • Reaching the “Middle-Class Poor” is key to solving the issue.

Read the paper here.

 

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