Even before devastating wildfires destroyed an estimated 12,845 structures in Los Angeles County, the city of L.A. was making headlines for its housing crisis. A new report from The United States Conference of Mayors indicates that this crisis actually extends nationwide.
In its survey of mayors from 120 cities across the nation, the conference found that more than half of mayors anticipate between a 5,000 to 20,000-unit shortfall in their city in the next five years. Altogether, that means the housing deficit will increase by an additional 2 million units by 2030.
“The fundamental reason for our crisis is the same as in most global cities: an extreme shortage of housing, which has left Angelenos to face overcrowding, punishing commutes, or, all too often, homelessness,” explains the Los Angeles City Planning Department on its website. “These effects are especially felt by those with the lowest incomes, who have limited options when it comes to finding an affordable home.”
In July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines by issuing an executive order telling state agencies to dismantle thousands of homeless encampments across the state. At the time, Carla Orendorff, an organizer with Aetna Street Solidarity, told KNX News that removing encampments without providing a path to housing would never solve the housing problem.
According to CBS News, L.A. already needed to build 450,000 affordable housing units by 2029 to meet demand before the large-scale destruction caused by recent fires. It noted that, on average, one new apartment building can take four years to build.
While housing issues have been linked with major cities with large populations like Los Angeles and New York City, the mayors conference said it is now an issue that impacts everyone in the U.S. It said there is a shortage of around 4 million to 7 million homes nationwide and that nearly 70% of Americans are concerned about rising housing costs.
Already, more than 42% of households covered by mayors who participated in the survey spend more than the recommended 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments or other housing costs. A third of mayors also said that at least 50% of the households in their cities were cost burdened.
“Over 650,000 of our neighbors are homeless, first-time home ownership is at a record low, and U.S. home prices have skyrocketed over 40% since 2020,” said Tom Cochran CEO and Executive Director of The United States Conference of Mayors. To deal with this crisis, mayors are demanding “the largest and most comprehensive investment in America’s housing supply in history,” he added.
Along with the lack of housing units, the conference reported a need for more than 420,000 housing vouchers for those in need and that construction costs are rapidly increasing. Over the past three years, the cost to build a house shot up by almost 30%. During the same time period, median rental prices increased by 18% and median sale prices increased 21%.
“Among all mayors surveyed, there was very strong support for continuing, and in many cases, expanding existing federal housing programs, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Community Development Block Grants, Housing Choice Vouchers, and the Home Investment Partnership Program,” said the conference report. “These programs are widely believed by mayors to be quite effective and important to cities, even where their impact has been limited due to insufficient federal funding.”
Many of these programs had bipartisan support, with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Housing Choice Vouchers receiving the broadest support. A “sizable majority of mayors” surveyed also agrees Congress must directly address the housing shortage with a legislative package to avoid negative consequences for U.S. cities.
“Across all four key metrics considered, mayors indicated that they believe federal inaction will worsen the affordable housing shortage and exacerbate related challenges such as homelessness and reduced economic opportunity,” the report said.
Mayor Helen Tran of San Bernardino, Calif., was one of the mayors calling for action.
“San Bernardino already struggles with limited affordable housing options, and without federal intervention, the gap between demand and supply could widen,” she said. “This would exacerbate homelessness and force more residents into overcrowded or substandard housing conditions, reducing the overall quality of life.”
Also, though the mayors stressed the need for more housing, they also acknowledged that any new housing must be safe and resilient.