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Lab Report: Over Half of America's Affordable Housing Supply Has Vanished
By Katie Pierce
CityLab.com
Plummeting supply: A Freddie Mac report finds that the number of affordable apartments fell by more than 60 percent over the past six years for households making less than 50 percent of the area median income. The Washington Post reports:
“We have a rapidly diminishing supply of affordable housing, with rent growth outstripping income growth in most major metro areas,” said David Brickman, executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “This doesn’t just reflect a change in the housing stock.”
Rather, he said, affordable housing without a government subsidy is becoming extinct. More renters flooded the market after people lost their homes in the housing crisis. The apartment vacancy rate was 8 percent in 2009, compared to 4 percent in 2017. That trend, coupled with a stagnant supply of apartments, resulted in increased rents.
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