A new working paper from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research found that the addition of market-rate units can cause a migration chain that frees up affordable housing.
City Lab reports that the paper, authored by economist Evan Mast, “suggests that even expensive new units in wealthy areas help relieve pressure on rents across the market, including in less-affluent neighborhoods. And that process doesn’t need to take years to unfold.”
These findings suggest that housing markets aren’t nearly as segregated as some might fear, if you work your way down the migration chain far enough. His model suggests that for every 100 luxury units built in wealthier neighborhoods, as many as 48 households in moderate-income neighborhoods are able to move into housing that better suits their needs, vacating an existing unit in the process. Somewhere between 10 and 20 of these households are coming from among the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods, vacating units and reducing demand where housing is most likely to be affordable for working families.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Affordability
$5.5B in Grants Allocated for Affordable Housing, Homelessness
With this funding, the Biden administration aims to boost the housing supply, lower housing costs, expand rental assistance, and enhance renter protections
Affordability
NAHB Announces Plan to Address the Housing Affordability Crisis
The National Association of Home Builders has outlined a 10-step plan that would increase the supply of single-family and multifamily for-sale and for-rent housing
Innovation
IKEA Model Home Aims to Ease the Trauma of Homelessness
Blending innovation with empathy and eco-conscious design, IKEA US unveils a pioneering model home in its Live Oak, Texas, store
