For the past several years, rising rental costs have drastically outpaced household income nationwide, and that run-up in rents has weakened the value of a key form of housing assistance. Across all U.S. metros in 2021, 19 million households met the criteria for Housing Choice Voucher eligibility, but only 2 million vouchers were available, Zillow reports.
The need for more vouchers was already a concern pre-pandemic as funding limits left large portions of qualifying households without rental assistance, and in a housing boom that sent rental costs significantly higher, voucher values fell even further behind.
Since the start of the pandemic the nation’s typical rent – as measured by the Zillow Observed Rental Index (ZORI) – has increased by 26%, whereas average earnings have risen by 16% during that same period. This deviation between rent and income growth has caused more renter households to become rent burdened, exacerbating the need for housing assistance for many households.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Policy + Finance
The Garden State Takes a New Approach to Expanding Affordable Housing
Recent legislation in New Jersey could provide inspiration for eliminating affordable housing hurdles in other places with strong housing markets
Affordability
Will NAR's Landmark Commissions Settlement Lower Housing Costs?
The $418 million deal changes long-standing rules—written and unwritten—that consumers claim inflated sales commissions for home sellers, including new-home builders
Government + Policy
Biden's Proposed Fixes for Housing Affordability
In his State of the Union address, President Biden proposed several actions to improve housing affordability and supply