Study: Low-Income Housing Does Not Lower Nearby Home Values

For years, a common and strong objection to affordable housing development has been that it lowers the real estate value of homes in the surrounding areas. That, it turns out, is a myth.

Research shows that affordable housing does not have a long-term negative impact on nearby property values.

Housing affordability is one of the biggest problems affecting our society today.

Some industry experts claim the concept of affordable housing itself is flawed. Many maintain it has failed because of poor management. Others believe that government subsidies are ineffective and counterproductive. 

So how can we help solve the complex problem of housing affordability?

Eviction Vicious Cycle Crushes Families, Communities and Entire Neighborhoods.

Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," written by Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond, put the spotlight on the extreme hardships and trauma that evictions inflict on low-income families.

A new study by real estate website Redfin estimates that 2.7 million renters in the U.S. faced in 2015. This number is likely to come short of reality because of the lack of eviction data and because many evictions happen outside the court system.

How Other Countries Are Tackling Their Affordable Housing Problem

While the U.S. continues to experience a stubborn housing crisis, it could learn a thing or two from other countries that are managing their affordable housing issues more effectively.

Unaffordability in the U.S.

An increasing number of Americans are struggling to pay the rent, an estimated 2.5 million of them getting evicted each year. Evidently, government programs designed to help low-income folks get adequate, affordable housing are failing or not doing enough to put a dent on the affordable housing crisis.

There's no quick fix for the affordable housing crisis, but we can begin to change that.

Housing affordability is one of the biggest problems affecting our society today, one that is difficult to define and even more difficult to solve—hence our current affordable housing crisis.

There is not enough affordable housing in the United States. For every 100 low-income households in need of affordable housing, there are 29 adequate, available units, according to Mapping America, a project by the Urban Land Institute's Assisted Housing Initiative.

Students need affordable housing too.

As more Americans seek the opportunities provided by higher education, and debates continue over tuition costs and student loans, universities and colleges are finding themselves facing another challenging problem: student housing insecurity.

Today, more students are struggling to find housing, with many ending up homeless or having to drop out. Young adults typically lack the financial resources, rental history, and credit required to obtain decent housing.

Decent, affordable rental housing is crucial for the well-being of individuals, families and communities throughout the U.S. and the world.

Rental housing has always provided flexible and diverse housing options for people at all stages of life. The housing market crash and Great Recession that began in 2007, from which we are still recovering, highlighted the many advantages of renting and the obstacles to home ownership, triggering a surge in demand for rentals in the U.S.

America's older population is about to explode, and the country is nowhere near ready to meet the evolving housing needs of its seniors.

Driven by the aging baby boom generation and increased longevity, the segment of the population aged 50 and over is projected to grow about 20 percent to 132 million in 2030, with those aged 65 to 74 nearly doubling from 21.7 million in 2010 to 38.6 million in 2030, an AARP-sponsored report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University concluded.

We All Need Affordable Housing.  

A house is not just a building. It is a home—a place that shelters, protects and nurtures its occupants. It supports their personal and professional development and offers a safe harbor.

Affordable housing is not a handout. It is a necessity. For years, the middle class has been squeezed as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. At the same time, the cost to rent or purchase housing has become less affordable for millions of Americans.