New Market Rate Housing Essential for Overall Affordability

In San Francisco-based marketing blog Art + Marketing, California State Senator Scott Wiener lays out the case for increasing the supply of market rate housing to increase affordability. He argues that while affordable housing projects subsidized by state and federal governments are badly needed, those projects will not provide enough units to house the vast majority of rent-burdened citizens, particularly middle class renters who do not qualify for subsidies. In an argument that will be familiar to Portland developers, Wiener suggests that excessive zoning restrictions and an overly complicated housing approval process have contributed to a shortage of new units as well as skyrocketing rents in California. He argues that the problem is not an overabundance of "luxury" housing, but rather a scarcity of units that has caused housing to be a luxury. Read more.