In the 2024 U.S. election, voters across the country showed strong support for affordable housing initiatives. According to real estate marketing platform Redfin, cities and states nationwide approved substantial funding through bonds and taxes to address local housing shortages. For instance, in Charlotte, N.C., voters approved a $100 million bond to build and maintain affordable housing, addressing rising rents that have increased by 27% since 2019. Similarly, Los Angeles voters passed Measure A, which doubles a sales tax from a quarter-cent to half-cent to fund affordable housing and homelessness services.
These measures, along with the many others passed across the U.S., send a clear signal that most voters support future affordable housing development. However, the housing market still has a ways to go when it comes to boosting affordability.
The 2024 election results are a reminder that housing policy remains a high-stakes battleground, and will continue to come up in future elections. It’s tempting to believe that rent controls or strict regulations will solve the problem, but they don’t address the root issue: a lack of supply. To make housing truly affordable, we need policies that build more homes, not rules that complicate it.
Because affordable housing is dense housing, without more support to increase housing density in areas with economic opportunities—neighborhoods with highly rated schools, access to transit and job opportunities—these investments may fall short. With Republicans now in control at the federal level, it’s unlikely we’ll see a solid push to economically diversify these neighborhoods through zoning reform that legalizes affordable, dense housing. Although President-elect Trump has promised to cut red-tape for homebuilders, he has also pledged to protect single-family zoning in the suburbs. Local resistance to new housing will also remain a significant barrier to housing affordability and economic opportunity. Read more