Why Affordable Housing is So Hard to Find

Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping 2M+ innovators in the loop: https://thehustle.co/ In the US, a record 460k+ new apartments will go on the market this year. Another 1m newly built rentals are expected through 2025 (though high-interest rates and rising construction costs may ultimately lower that number). Overall, since Covid, America has experienced a construction boom “not seen since the 1970s,” per RentCafe. But there’s a problem. To start, ~89% of new builds in the 2020s are high-end units. Those most affected by the current market — low-income renters — remain short on options. Builders are flooding the market with the new supply it theoretically needs, just not where it’s needed most.