Housing Crisis

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  A widespread shortage of affordable housing or a financial crisis in the housing market.

• Global Trend

  Escalating in cities worldwide for decades.

• Primary Cause

  Housing costs rising faster than household income.

• US Mortgage Rates

  At multi-decade high due to Federal Reserve's rate hikes since summer 2022.

• Exacerbating Factor

  Climate disasters.

• Federal Support (US)

  Insufficient, with potential budget cuts further deepening the crisis.

• US Contributing Factors

  Local zoning and land use regulations, rising material costs, national labor shortage, complex permitting processes.

• Political Relevance (US)

  A leading issue for voters in major party campaigns.

• US Specific Impact (2023)

  Shortage of over 8 million housing units.

• US Specific Impact (Cost Burden)

  Tens of millions of households spend more than 30% of income on housing; 60% of Black renters and 30% of Black homeowners severely cost burdened.

Timeline

• American subprime mortgage crisis. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2007-2008

• Chinese property sector crisis begins. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020

• Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes begin, leading to multi-decade high mortgage rates in the US (Summer 2022 is approximated to June 1st). (Source: Web Search Results)

  2022-06-01

• United States faced a shortage of over eight million housing units. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2023

• Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released 'The State of the Nation's Housing 2025 Report' detailing persistent affordability crisis. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2025-06-24

Housing crisis

An affordable housing crisis or housing crisis is either a widespread housing shortage in places where people want to live or a financial crisis in the housing market. Housing crises can contribute to homelessness and housing insecurity. They are difficult to address, because they are a complex "web of problems and dysfunctions" with many contributing factors, but generally result from housing costs rising faster than household income. There is an ongoing decades-long increasing trend of cities around the world facing housing crises. Some notable examples of financial crises in the housing market are the American subprime mortgage crisis in 2007–2008 and the Chinese property sector crisis beginning in 2020.

Web Search Results

• The Market Alone Can't Fix the U.S. Housing Crisis

  The United States is experiencing a serious housing crisis, and has been for a long time. Growth in rents continues to exceed overall price inflation. Mortgage rates have been at a multi-decade high due to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes since summer 2022. Tens of millions of households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Shelter is a basic human need and unaffordable housing is — and should be — a national scandal. ## Partner Center Explore HBR HBR Store About HBR

• The U.S. Housing Crisis Explained: What Americans Need to Know

  Construction workers at a residential property in Washington, D.C., August 25, 2022 Photo by Graeme Sloan/Reuters Housing is front and center in both of the major parties' campaigns for the White House. Voters, particularly young voters, consistently rank concerns around housing as one the leading issues that will determine who they vote for in November. A recent poll found that neither party has a clear edge on the issue. [...] Recent research has shown that proponents' claims that rent regulation keeps existing renters stably housed has some merit, but that this comes at a cost of reducing the overall stock of rental housing because landlords opt to convert rental housing to owner-occupied housing. [...] Ward It is difficult to overstate the role local zoning and land use regulations have played in creating the affordability crisis in most urban areas of the United States. Decades of limitations have had substantial negative effects on the level of housing production and the cost of housing produced. That includes downzoning, dramatically increasing local discretion over project approvals, substantial growth of historic zones and other overlays that make redeveloping land more difficult, and

• McKinsey's five bold solutions to the affordable housing crisis

  # McKinsey’s five bold solutions to the affordable housing crisis March 10, 2025Communities across the United States are facing a housing crisis. For many Americans facing high costs, long commutes, overcrowding, or homelessness, an affordable stable home is increasingly out of reach. [...] Rising material costs and a national labor shortage have significantly increased housing prices. As a result, it is critical to find ways to build with greater speed and efficiency. Off-site home construction, where components of homes are built off-site and then assembled at their final destination, is often cheaper than building on-site—yet off-site construction has struggled to scale. One reason is the complex permitting process, which varies widely in every state and city. Every hour lost [...] According to a new report from the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, the United States faced a shortage of more than eight million housing units in 2023. The report, Investing in housing: Unlocking economic mobility for Black families and all Americans, reveals that Black Americans are disproportionately affected, with 60 percent of Black renters and 30 percent of Black homeowners severely cost burdened, well above national averages.

• NLIHC Releases The Gap 2025: A Shortage of Affordable ...

  country needs bipartisan leadership to address the housing crisis – a crisis spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations – not ideologically driven assaults on seniors, people with disabilities, and low-wage workers struggling with housing instability.”

• State of the Nation's 2025 Housing Report Details ...

  JCHS’ report stated that current federal resources and funding have been insufficient to provide solutions. Moreover, budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration in its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request would further deepen the housing affordability crisis by removing support for millions of households. With less federal support, the report notes that state and local governments are increasing efforts to find solutions that fund affordable housing developments and support assistance [...] State of the Nation’s 2025 Housing Report Details Persistent Housing Affordability Crisis ========================================================================================= FacebookTwitterLinkedIn _Published by Peter Lawrence on Monday, June 30, 2025 - 11:40AM_ Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its The State of the Nation’s Housing 2025 Report June 24, which deliberates the various issues renters and homeowners continue to face. [...] As housing affordability continues to decrease, households are facing increasing housing cost burdens, which are exacerbated by a significant shortage of adequate housing coupled with potential decreasing federal housing support, the report found. In addition, the report notes that climate disasters are becoming a growing threat to housing as unprecedented destruction creates further hardships for households.