However, regions are now beginning to understand the real link between positive housing outcomes in their region and future economic growth. The link between housing and economic growth manifests itself in several unique ways:

• Regions can only grow if new and existing residents have access to quality, affordable or market rate housing that can provide stability for family and personal growth in the region.

• More middle-class or workforce housing development improves hiring outcomes for employers as they search for new talent.

• New affordable housing development on or rehabilitation of previously abandoned lots or structures can stabilize underserved or distressed neighborhoods.

• New affordable housing construction on distressed or underutilized lots generates a greater land value for property tax assessments leading to stronger local government revenue streams.

• New infill affordable housing development using mixed use development principles can create more environmentally sustainable and higher-quality housing in communities.

• New affordable housing construction can improve homeownership opportunities for low-middle-income residents and first-time homebuyers and allow these residents to build equity in communities.

• Improving homeownership opportunities gives residents the opportunity to make a longer-term commitment to an area and is correlated with greater participation in positive social groups (including local schools, civic clubs, and neighborhood groups) and longer-term employment at regional employers.

• More affordable housing options leads to fewer evictions that strain social services systems and contribute to homelessness.

• New affordable housing development can create construction jobs that have a beneficial short-term economic impact in a region.

Affordability challenges are no longer solely an issue in dense, large cities. Housing challenges have spread to fast-growing small metro regions, micropolitan cities in rural areas, declining small rural towns, and other regional contexts across the country. These communities are all experiencing housing challenges but in different, unique ways.

Fast-growing metro regions are in housing supply constraints that restrict the ability of incoming and existing workers to find suitable housing across the income spectrum. Metro regions that don’t have suitable housing stock for fast-growing populations can induce expansive development sprawl and high-income barriers for prospective homeowners who want to settle in the region. Additionally, many of these regions are now grappling with recent developments in workforce patterns like remote work that have shifted development trends away from downtown cores. Regions can create high-quality, livable communities and develop attractive amenities for residents, but if individuals across the income spectrum cannot find suitable housing, regional population will stagnate, and economic growth will slow in the long term. It is imperative that regional leaders work together to meet housing needs for long-term economic growth.

Additionally, rural regions are experiencing similar, yet unique, housing-based economic stagnation. Rural regions have reported that more and more manufacturing companies are analyzing existing housing supply before making final decisions on industrial site selection. Without an adequate housing supply, rural regions may find it hard to attract new companies to industrial sites if those industries are unsure if the region can support an influx of housing demand from their employees. In addition, rural regions with limited housing supply already experience workforce, aging-in-place, and community development issues that will only continue without adequate, affordable, and quality housing options for new and existing residents.