One of the key challenges identified is the gap between market-rate and affordable housing in many of the country’s largest metropolitan areas, including cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, and Northern New Jersey.
For example, in San Francisco, the average market-rate rent stands at $3,028, compared to $1,982 for fully affordable housing. In Boston, the difference is similarly stark, with market-rate rents averaging $2,801 compared to $1,819 for affordable units.
On the other hand, several smaller markets are more competitive when it comes to affordable housing. The study found that at least 90% of market-rate units in cities like Wichita, Kansas; Huntsville, Alabama; Des Moines, Iowa; and Omaha, Nebraska, are competitive with affordable properties, offering more options for renters in those areas.
The Yardi Matrix study is based on data from over 3.3 million units across 20,000 fully affordable housing properties. These properties are operated by both private sector entities and non-profit organizations. The analysis compared the maximum allowable rent for fully affordable units with the average advertised rent for market-rate apartments, breaking the data into four levels of apartment quality.
In addition to the competitiveness of rents, the study pointed out other challenges such as supply growth limitations and the overall composition of housing stock. However, it also stressed that each market is unique, and broad-scale analysis comes with challenges.