Even though housing is the most important basic need of any human, the affordable housing crisis in the United States makes many people homeless says Maxwell Drever. Housing can be considered affordable only when the cost is less than 30% of the overall income of the owner. More than 50 million renter households in the United States are cost-burdened. This means that they spend more than 30% of their overall income on housing purposes. Some severe cost-burdened people spend more than 50% of their overall income on housing.
The unavailability of affordable housing causes numerous negative impacts on the community. The cost-burdened families experience more stress-related to basic needs such as healthcare, education, clothes, food, transportation, etc. Additionally, the lack of affordable housing also increases the adverse effects on the environment.
Supply Challenges
This is one of the most crucial dialogues surrounding the affordable housing crisis problem. As per the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the lack of rental and affordable units for low and very low-income families is estimated at 6.8 million units. As per the current production speed, the supply of affordable housing will never meet the demand.
Low Incomes and Land Use Regulations
Do you know what caused the affordable housing crisis in the United States in the first place? The cost of local land and the regulations are the key factors. In many communities, local zoning-related rules and regulations make it impossible to develop the local landscape and deliver the required density to develop affordable housing projects.
Some of these shortages are intentional, says Maxwell Drever. On the other hand, some accidental shortages result from arcane land-use regulations. This effect is to prevent the development of more affordable housing. However, even if the communities showcase their interests in affordable housing, there would be a lack of financial support require to offset production support. There is also a lack of housing tax credits and other resources that are extremely important to meet affordable housing demand.
What Increases the Demand for the Affordable Housing?
Apart from the supply problem of affordable housing, Maxwell Drever says the lack of affordable housing problem cannot be solve without proper demand. Why do so many families fail to afford the market-rate housing? Why are more than 25 million families in the United States extremely cost-burdened?
Some of these problems are connect with wealth distribution and income over the past couple of decades. This is the primary reason why middle-class families are shrinking. Nowadays, a large chunk of the country’s aggregate income is going to the bank account of upper-class families. While the share designates for the lower and middle-class families is lacking.
Additionally, the income shift has also reduced the number of families. That could afford the market-rate housing cost or rent says Maxwell Drever. Therefore, the demand for affordable housing is increasing, and without proper supply, it’s turning into a crisis.
Conclusion
With the increasing demand for affordable housing in the United States, the supply of affordable housing is undoubtedly a challenging task. The speed of production cannot satisfy the demand for affordable housing. If Government doesn’t take any necessary steps soon, there will be enormous problems.