WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, September 4, 2019: As D.C.-area housing market booms, researchers warn 220,000 families could be displaced
Roughly 220,000 families across the D.C. region could be forced to leave their homes in the coming years as housing costs rise, according to a new study of the area’s housing market.
Researchers at the Urban Institute found that people living in 296 communities around the region are at risk of displacement, reasoning that households with lower incomes in areas experiencing rapid property value increases will be particularly vulnerable and could soon be priced out of the market. The analysis, released Wednesday and crafted in tandem with the Greater Washington Partnership, comes as part of a broader study of the region’s “Future Housing Needs.”
The institute has been circulating some of the early findings of the study among area officials, offering some dire descriptions of Greater Washington’s housing market and outlining strategies to turn the tide for renters. Chiefly, the study calls for 374,000 new homes (a substantial increase from current projections) by 2030 to match population growth, and the vast majority will need to be affordable to low- and middle-income families to avoid exacerbating the area’s existing housing affordability challenges.
