The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the 2009-2011 National Rental Dynamics Report, which uses the longitudinal features of the American Housing Survey to track changes in rental housing affordability. The report examines how recent changes in affordability fit into the trajectory of the rental housing stock over the course of the recession and recovery.

The report looks at the entire rental stock, including occupied rental units, vacant rental units, vacant units offered for sale or rent, and units rented but not yet occupied. The report divides the rental units into eight categories based on affordability relative to local area median income. Over the 2009–2011 period:

  • Rental stock grew by almost 3.3 million units
  • Three most affordable categories grew by 1.0 million units from 18.0 million to 19.0 million.
  • Three most affordable categories represented a slightly lower share of the rental stock in 2011, which is attributed to a decline in homeownership over that period of time.

HUD-Report-Affordable-Rental-Housing-Table

In examining reports between 2003 and 2011, the report concludes that the recession and financial crisis led to a dramatic reduction in affordable rental housing. The 2009-2011 report indicates that the recovery brought about an increase in the number of affordable rental units.

Read the full report here.