Jan 31, 2020 - Economy & Business

Trump country's housing crisis

Data: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Cartogram: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The rent is too damn high across huge swaths of conservative states, and it's getting worse fast.

Why it matters: The housing crisis gripping coastal cities has now gone national.

The big picture: “The lowest-income people have always had an absurdly high cost of living,” Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a research associate at Harvard's Joint Center on Housing Studies, which produced the report, told Bloomberg.

  • “But the affordability crisis that we’re seeing now is hitting middle-income renters, and it’s hitting them across the country.”
  • Bloomberg notes: An "influx of high-income renters ... are increasingly delaying home ownership either out of choice or necessity, driving up rents by fueling competition for existing units and spurring new construction designed primarily for the upper end of the market."

By the numbers: The top 10 U.S. cities, in terms of their rising share of renters making $30,000 to $45,000 who pay more than 30% of their income on rent:

  1. Nashville
  2. Greenville, S.C.
  3. McAllen, Texas
  4. Boise City, Idaho
  5. Raleigh
  6. Denver
  7. Palm Bay, Fla.
  8. Austin
  9. Omaha
  10. Louisville

Go deeperThe new housing crisis

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The new housing crisis

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Rising house prices don't cause lenders to lose money, or economies to implode. But the bottom rung of the housing ladder has now ascended beyond the grasp of millions of Americans, regardless of whether they want to rent or buy.

Why it matters: When house prices fall too much, the rich and powerful lose money. That, in turn, means central banks around the world will swing into action to try to save the economy. When home prices rise too much, on the other hand, there's no such urgency on the part of policymakers.

Microsoft adds $250 million to Seattle affordable housing investment

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

One year ago, Microsoft announced it would invest $500 million to address the affordable housing crisis in Seattle. Today, it announced an additional $250 million in the form of a line of credit to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Why it matters: The additional allocation brings Microsoft's total investment to $750 million, deepening its role in its hometown as part financier, part philanthropist in trying to lessen the low- and middle-wage housing shortage plaguing many tech hubs around the country.

Go deeperArrowJan 15, 2020

The housing market faces an uncertain 2020

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

After being one of the weaker sectors of the U.S. economy in the first half of 2019, the housing sector rebounded, spurred by a trio of U.S. interest rate cuts from the Fed that lowered the cost of mortgages.

Yes, but: There are clouds on the horizon for 2020, as declining home affordability continues to be a concern, especially for first-time home buyers.

Go deeperArrowJan 23, 2020