Part 3: Will more housing solve the affordable housing crisis?

SUMMARY

It’s time to take a look at this relationship on a state level.

Now that we have a better understanding of the relationship between the construction of new homes and housing affordability on a national scale, it’s time to take a look at this relationship on a state level.

New York

First up, we take a look at New York. Over the next few weeks, we’ll also be analyzing California, Washington, and Texas housing trends in an effort to understand more about how we can continue to build vibrant housing across the U.S.

In New York state, the share of overall construction specifically earmarked for low- and middle-income Americans has dramatically decreased from 1995 to 2017. For instance, while 51% of all new homes placed in service for the year of 1995 were funded via LIHTC, this figure drops down to 3.5% in 2017.

This suggests that while New York continues to increase overall construction, very few of these new homes remain affordable for lower income residents of the state.

NY LIHTC & Starts

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New Privately Owned Housing Units Authorized
Total Number of Low-Income Units

Year	New Privately Owned Housing Units Authorized	Total Number of Low-Income Units
1995	4791	5101
1996	10420	3414
1997	9449	4591
1998	10995	4778
1999	12025	4220
2000	13276	4770
2001	13697	4680
2002	14841	5948
2003	16286	5807
2004	18167	5450
2005	26488	7526
2006	24348	9478
2007	29488	11420
2008	35696	11709
2009	6937	6570
2010	7665	14340
2011	11978	24441
2012	13891	16815
2013	20411	6139
2014	23710	7226
2015	62116	8220
2016	21157	6584
2017	26674	942

Evidently, both the absolute number of low-income units and the proportion of new construction that is designated affordable housing have fallen significantly in New York.

Across the nation

Next week, we’ll take a look at the relationship between housing starts and low-income construction in California. By looking at this relationship in individual states, we can begin to dissect the extent to which the affordable housing crisis facing the US is rooted in federal vs. state policies.