Housing Supply Matters When Addressing Affordability

Economist Joe Cortright writes in his City Observatory blog that politicians and affordable housing advocates are starting to realize what economists have been arguing for years: increasing the supply of market rate housing is an essential part of addressing affordability issues. He also points out that a recent article in Shelterforce tackling the phenomenon of “filtering up” actually showed that building two market rate housing units has the same impact on mitigating displacement as building one affordable unit. In cities that spend vast sums of money to subsidize affordable units, this conclusion could motivate some city planners to do more to encourage market rate construction. Read more.