National Affordable Housing Report – February 2025
Affordable deliveries are nearing peak cycle.
Completions in the affordable housing sector are set to reach a multi-year peak of 78,377 units in 2025, according to the latest Yardi Matrix Affordable Housing research bulletin. This figure marks a 12.6 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Six markets are slated to surpass the 2,000 affordable unit delivery threshold in 2025. Austin, Texas leads the way with 3,452 units followed by Los Angeles (2,752 units) and Brooklyn, N.Y., (2,701 units). Phoenix (2,688 units), Miami (2,037 units) and Seattle (2,018 units) wrap up the list.
While rising this year, affordable deliveries are set to temper in the coming years. In 2026, the number is expected to reach 64,745 units as the impact of fewer affordable construction starts begins to take effect.
New affordable construction is limited by factors such as the cost of land, labor, materials and insurance—a constraint shared with the broader multifamily market. While starts trended downward for both affordable and market-rate units in 2024, new affordable construction fell by 28.7 percent year-over-year while market-rate starts plummeted by 47 percent during the same period.
Against the backdrop of a disproportionate decline, affordable starts comprised 18.8 percent of new multifamily construction in 2024, up from 14.2 percent the year before. The markets with the busiest affordable pipeline were Austin (2,717 units underway), Miami (2,687 units) and Los Angeles (2,196 units).
Higher budget allocation for LIHTC
As the new administration took over, a levy of new policies to stimulate affordable housing construction may be expected. LIHTC allocation will be among them as a 2023 bipartisan bill aiming to increase funding by 12.5 percent for the 9 percent LIHTC passed through the House yet stalled in the Senate.
The federal government allocated $10 billion for the 9 percent LIHTC program in 2024, up from $9.4 billion in 2023, according to Novogradac. However, the volume would have been $11.3 billion had the bill passed.
Read the full Yardi Matrix affordable report.
