Housing Leaders Group
of Greater Washington
State and Local Government Connections
A key finding of a 2014 Urban Institute/Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments study concluded that there are 250,000 low- or moderate-income households, including 150,000 rental, that are severely cost-burdened in the Greater Washington region (paying more than 50% of their gross income on housing costs).
Moreover, 2015 projections from the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University show a need for the region to accommodate projected job growth and demographic changes that will bring an expected 149,000 new low-income households to the region by 2023, working in lower wage jobs in retail, hospitality, healthcare, and construction. The report notes this “…shows a significant increase in the need for low-income housing, especially rental housing.”
HOUSING PROJECTIONS
THE SOLUTION
The Greater Washington Housing Leaders Group works to elevate the visibility of, and broaden support for bold, thoughtful solutions for the housing affordability challenge by engaging multiple regional stakeholders to collaborate in new ways. Targeted sectors include philanthropy, local government, state governments, housing developers, employers and business trade organizations, housing research and policy organizations, as well as social service providers, the faith community, and financial institutions.
Based on our examination of the regional landscape thus far, strategies with the most potential for solving the problem are:
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Reducing costs
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Increasing availability of capital
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Updating and innovating land use planning