Articles we found interesting this week:

1. Though some argue that “filtering” does not address affordability, here is a Bloomberg article suggesting that adding supply is an effective way to address rising rents.

2. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is by far the largest producer of affordable housing in America.  However, it has not produced enough supply to address the critical shortage of affordable units. This article explores potential reforms to the program that could help. Speaking of potential reforms, here is an article exploring the potential for Congressional action to expand the LIHTC program.

3. Want to Understand Your Neighbors?  Go to a Municipal Meeting, writes the New York Times.

4. “Cross-Sector Community Partnerships are Key to Boosting Upward Mobility and Equity.” Read it from the Urban Institute.

5. The Housing Market has Become an Impossible Mess, according to this Bloomberg article.

6. Six Novel Ways Affordable Housing is Being Created in the US. Read it here.

7. “HOA Fees and Fines add to US Housing Affordability Crisis,” from Bloomberg.

8. Although the author is speaking about Canada, the “potluck” approach to housing affordability applies to America.

9. “The Big Bet on ‘Tiny Homes’ to Fix Homelessness,” from Vox.

10. Concerns raised about Asheville’s affordable housing formula and how it impacts Black families, from WLOS.

    
    

    Long Reads:

    I came across this interesting journal article discussing the concept of “White Spaces” and “Black Spaces” in relation to race, class, social equity and the use of public spaces.

    Despite arguments by supply skeptics that “filtering” does not occur as cities add to the supply of new market rate housing, research continues to demonstrate that “filtering” does slow the acceleration of housing cost increases. A forthcoming paper from researchers at New York University’s Furman Center finds that:

    • Although “supply skeptics” claim that new housing supply does not slow growth in rents, we show that rigorous recent studies demonstrate that: 1) Increases in housing supply slow the growth in rents in the region; 2) In some circumstances, new construction also reduces rents or rent growth in the surrounding area; 3) The chains of moves sparked by new construction free up apartments that are then rented (or retained) by households across the income spectrum; 4) While new supply is associated with gentrification, it has not been shown to cause significant displacement of lower income households; and 5) Easing land use restrictions, at least on a broad scale and in ways that change binding constraints on development, generally leads to more new housing over time, but only a fraction of the new capacity created because many other factors constrain the pace of new development.

      Read the complete paper here.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn