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U.S. Households Face Higher Cost Burdens Today Versus a Decade Ago
Housing affordability continues to be a challenge throughout the United States. ULI and research partner RCLCO recently released the first Terwilliger Center for Housing’s 2025 Home Attainability Index, revealing how challenging the situation has become.
According to Urban Land Magazine, the write-up highlighted “some of the persistent challenges in serving America’s unmet housing needs.”
“It cannot be underscored that when the housing supply fails to keep pace with population growth, the consequences spill over into economic challenges—limiting job growth and industry expansion in many regions,” Rosemarie Hepner, vice president, ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing said in the Urban Land article.
Takeaways from the report and article include the following.
Increasing Cost Burdens
Households earning less than $50,000 in almost every major market across the U.S. “are significantly more cost-burdened than they were ten years ago,” the article said. “This nationwide affordability crisis is continuing to worsen, and concentrated efforts to increase the country’s housing stock are needed at all levels of government to reverse this trend.
A Variance in Housing Attainability
Taking its cue from the report, the article said that “home prices and rents are rising dramatically in certain U.S. markets while stabilizing in others.” The report pointed out that Rust Belt households earning 120% AMI “have easy access to purchase.” Meanwhile, there are fewer options in the West.
Housing Development’s Suburban Components
The report explained that, with many established markets built out, “new development is pushing outside the downtown core and into first-ring suburbs.” The article noted that builders seek more affordable land and housing types to lower production costs.
Commute Times Increase
According to the report, markets that once had relatively short commute times are experiencing higher traffic and longer drive times to get to work. The article chimed in by adding that these findings are prompting major cities to reduce traffic congestion through pricing laws and new design approaches aimed at reducing car traffic, including bike lanes, curb expansions and subsidized transit packages.
- ◦Lease
- ◦Sale/Acquisition
- ◦Economy
- ◦Policy/Gov't
