The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes
- CREA
- Mar 2, 2017
- 1 min read
Updated: Nov 1, 2022
The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes March report “highlights the critical housing needs of the nation’s lowest income households.” In this report, key findings include:
11.4 million ELI renter households accounted for 26% of all U.S. renter households and nearly 10% of all households.
The U.S. has a shortage of 7.4 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low income (ELI) renter households, resulting in 35 affordable and available units for every 100 ELI renter households.
71% of ELI renter households are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities. These 8.1 million severely cost-burdened households account for 72.6% of all severely cost-burdened renter households in the U.S.
33% of very low income (VLI) renter households; 8.2% of low income (LI) renter households, and 2.4% of middle income (MI) renter households are severely cost burdened.
ELI renter households face a shortage of affordable and available rental homes in every state. The shortage ranges from just 15 affordable and available homes for every 100 ELI renter households in Nevada to 61 in Alabama.
The housing shortage for ELI renters ranges from 8,700 rental homes in Wyoming to 1.1 million in California.
It's becoming harder to find reasonably priced houses for sale, and this article really highlights why. The shortage of affordable homes isn’t just about market demand—it’s also about long-term underinvestment and policy gaps. We need more sustainable development solutions and support for first-time buyers before the gap becomes a permanent divide.