Soaring home prices and a shrinking supply of affordable housing are making it increasingly difficult for families across the U.S. to secure stable homes.

Why it's important: The lack of affordable housing puts families at risk of financial instability, disrupts employment and educational opportunities, and constrains regional economic growth.

🔍 Zoom in: Atlanta exemplifies the challenges — and breakthroughs — shaping America's housing future.

• Over the past decade, the city's population surged nearly 40%, driving up home prices and rents. In just five years, Metro Atlanta lost more than 230,000 affordable housing units.

The positive news: Atlanta is responding to the challenge by serving as an innovation lab — testing, refining and scaling new policies, financial structures and partnership models.

• In a new What Works report, JPMorganChase highlights four lessons from the progress in Atlanta that can help other communities across the country increase affordable housing supply and promote economic growth.

🏠 1. Reforming zoning policies expands housing to meet local needs.

Reforming zoning codes to allow different housing types in areas historically zoned for single-family homes increases affordable housing supply and helps meet local demand.

What works:

✅ Identifying local housing priorities early to streamline processes.

✅ Incentives boost affordable housing supply.

✅ Reduce permitting processing time to reduce development timelines.

An example: In 2015, Atlanta began a multi-year zoning reform to expand housing options and improve affordability. This included expanding accessory dwelling unit (ADU) allowances in 2018, new housing ordinances in 2021 and a full code rewrite expected by 2026.

• These changes have already led to the permitting of over 350 ADUs within city limits and are paving the way for more flexible, opportunity-focused zoning.

🏠 2. Standardizing construction innovations in housing can facilitate larger scaling.

Innovative construction methods — particularly modular housing, repurposed materials and other factory-built approaches — can reduce build times and construction costs while maintaining quality.

What works:

✅ Standard housing models help create repeatable processes.

✅ Expedite processing through bundling multiple projects.

An example: In Atlanta's South Downtown, The Melody converted a city parking lot into 40 micro-units using repurposed shipping containers.

• By using a single, repeatable 320-square-foot module fabricated off site, The Melody completed construction in about four months, making it the fastest multifamily delivery in the history of Atlanta.

🏠 3. Strategic land and property acquisition preserves long-term affordability.

Proactive land and property acquisition by nonprofits, land banks and community land trusts secures affordable housing development opportunities tailored to community needs before market pressures drive up prices further.

What works:

✅ Partnerships with investors help nonprofits increase affordable housing.

✅ Nonprofit land ownership provides long-term stability.

✅ Innovative capital structures attract corporate investment.

An example: To finance land purchases when working with Westside Future Fund (WFF) in Atlanta, the founder of Intercontinental Exchange suggested structuring investments as zero-interest loans.

• This led to a $5 million commitment, which became the foundation for 10 Atlanta corporations to extend commitments to the fund — growing it to $29 million.

• As of October 2025, WFF has created or preserved over 850 multifamily rental units and developed more than 50 homes sold to income-qualified buyers.

🏠 4. Build local finance and development capacity through innovative financing.

Project-by-project financing and federal programs alone cannot deliver affordable housing at scale.

What works:

✅ Specialized intermediary organizations provide essential infrastructure.

✅ Revolving capital funds accelerate development.

✅ Joint ventures and blended capital transfer expertise and build local developer capacity.

✅ New markets tax credits expand affordable homeownership.

An example: The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) has invested over $72 million in underserved developers through joint arrangements.

• Many developers who started joint ventures were able to grow in their capacity and experience to undertake more complex projects independently.
• This approach has enabled ANDP to finance the production of 221 single-family homes for low- and moderate-income families and develop 519 affordable single-family homes.

Take note: All four strategies succeed by leveraging structured public-private partnerships that combine each sector's strength.

• Government supplies policy tools and public assets.
• Philanthropy offers patient capital and community connections.
• The private sector brings market expertise and scalable delivery.
• Community organizations provide accountability and local knowledge.

Looking ahead: As cities across the U.S. confront similar pressures, these insights out of Atlanta show that with vision, commitment and cross-sector collaboration, it's possible to create lasting solutions that strengthen communities and ensure opportunity for all.

Read more in JPMorganChase's new report.

📍 See how cities across the U.S. are reimagining the future.