The Hill News

How much value do we place as a society on our ability to house the poor? You have to wonder after suggestions arose during the latest budget compromise about cutting the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the only major national program remaining that funds affordable rental development.
 
In fact, there couldn’t be a worse time to eliminate this meaningful, jobs-creating support. Nearly 100 million Americans pay rent these days, and all signs point to that figure growing in the months and years ahead. People are losing their homes in record numbers, and many that have been foreclosed on have yet to move into rental housing. Analysts expect renters to account for 36 percent of U.S. households by 2015, up from 32.8 percent in 2004, and every percentage-point increase amounts to about 1.3 million more households joining the renting ranks.
 
Here’s the problem: If current trends hold up, their rental options will dry up fast. Construction start! s for multifamily residences are lagging behind demand â€" at a significant rate. The multifamily market will add an estimated 133,000 new residences this year, well short of the 250,000 to 300,000 needed to keep supply and demand in balance.
 
With multifamily developers so focused on high-end condos, low-income communities are feeling the shortage the most.

Read more...