Poorest Americans Face Housing Shortage, Vacant Units

The poorest U.S. renters face a severe shortage of affordable housing even as some apartments designated as low-income units sit vacant because rents remain out of reach. About 4 million affordable rental homes are available for roughly 11 million extremely low-income renter households, and about three-quarters of these households spend more than half their income on housing and utilities. Housing financed in recent years generally serves households earning at least 50% of area median income, while only about 12% of units financed through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit in 2024 targeted those at or below 30% of median income. Developers say construction and operating costs make deeply affordable units financially impossible without substantially greater subsidies; one Arlington nonprofit estimated that a unit affordable to a 30%-of-median-income renter would require support that does not currently exist. The mismatch leaves people such as homeless Austin resident Mathew Davis unable to afford even a $450-a-month tiny home, while thousands of nominally affordable apartments remain empty.