Copyright: Lighthunter
A new NMHC survey shows that nearly six in 10 (58%) of surveyed multifamily firms indicate they are reducing or avoiding investment in rent controlled markets, and another 15% of firms are considering cutting back in those markets. Conversely, only a quarter (27%) of firms are willing to keep their current or add new investments in rent controlled markets.
Respondents were also asked to list markets they are specifically avoiding, either due to existing rent control measures or the threat of new policy adoption. Of the 31 respondents who answered this question, 55 percent indicated specific markets in California or the state as a whole; 29 percent said New York; 23 percent indicated Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul); 19 percent mentioned Washington or Seattle; and 16 percent said they are avoiding Oregon or Portland specifically. Additional markets respondents reported specifically avoiding included Illinois (Chicago), Maryland, Massachusetts (Boston), Connecticut, and Colorado, (Denver).
Unfortunately policymakers in places like Boston, Minneapolis, Florida, Colorado and others continue to pursue counterproductive rent control policies, causing a reduction in housing investment and exacerbating the very problem rent control purports to solve. Please feel free to share this among your peers and policymakers.
NMHC has been making the case for decades that rather than improving the availability of affordable housing, rent control laws only exacerbate shortages, cause existing buildings to deteriorate and disproportionately benefit higher-income households. And as some states and localities continue to pursue counterproductive rent control policies, this data will be an important tool as we continue to set the record straight and advocate for more effective solutions to the housing shortage and resulting affordability crisis.
Additional resources are available at www.growinghomestogether.org and www.nmhc.org/rentcontrol.
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