The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ State of the Nation’s Housing 2025 report paints a stark picture of the nation’s worsening affordability crisis:
- New multifamily construction hit a four-decade high in 2024 (608,000 units), but most of these units target the upper end of the market, leaving fewer options for lower-income households;
- For renters, the number of cost-burdened households reached a record high of 22.6 million, with affordability challenges rising even among middle-income earners;
- Home insurance premiums jumped 57 percent from 2019 to 2024, with the sharpest increases in areas with the greatest risk of a climate-related disaster; and
- Rising homelessness, widening racial homeownership gaps, and threats to federal housing supports further underscore the scale of the crisis.
What’s Next: The Joint Center calls for urgent, coordinated action to address both the supply and affordability challenges, warning that inaction risks severe consequences for the economy and millions of households seeking a stable, affordable home.
