The Untapped Value of Workforce Housing

“An adequate supply of workforce housing not only helps lower-income renters, but also has a broader positive social impact.,” writes Godbersen.

NEW YORK CITY—America’s cities and suburbs are in the midst of a gradually worsening workforce housing crisis. Urban and suburban populations continue to rise, while wages have essentially stagnated for moderate and middle-income households over the past two decades. With homeownership rates dropping to the lowest figures since the 1960s and many upper-middle-class professionals preferring to rent in urban cores and transit-rich suburbs, rents continue to rise in markets across the country.

Developers have largely responded to this demand by building class A units, but this has done little to meet the shortage of affordable rentals. Nationwide, only 65 affordable units exist for every 100 low-income renters^[1].