In 2021, as the nation was still grappling with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of American renters were facing another challenge – increasingly unaffordable housing. According to our latest analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), the number and share of renters that year reporting rental housing cost burdens rose across all subsets of renters by race/ethnicity and incomes, with the largest increases observed among renters of color and those with extremely low incomes.

Enterprise's Ahmad Abu-Khalaf summarizes the key hurdles BIPOC housing developers face in accessing capital - and solutions for creating a more equitable future for developers.

New Census Bureau data show that for the first time since 2015 more than half of all renter households have reported struggling to pay their housing costs.

Historically land contracts have been a predatory tool in the homeownership market. But our Evelyn Zwiebach explains that with the right reforms, they can be a tool for upward mobility.

Key takeaways from new research showing how recent regulatory reforms can help boost production of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) across the country.

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration announced a set of actions intended to address racial bias in the home appraisal process. The announcement followed a two-year effort led by the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE), an inaugural task force comprised of 13 federal agencies and offices directed to evaluate the causes, extent, and consequences of appraisal bias, as well as establish recommendations to eliminate racial and ethnic bias from the home valuation process. The task force found that the legacies of past racist housing policies, along with industry practices that reinforce negative perceptions of neighborhoods with high concentrations of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color contributed to the under-valuation of homes in majority-BIPOC neighborhoods and the loss of billions of dollars in wealth for their owners.

The California Legislature has passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed critical affordable housing legislation from streamlining development to unlocking local resources to strengthening tenant protections.

Native American Heritage Month provides an opportune moment to take stock of and review Enterprise’s legislative and policy agenda for Native and Tribal housing. Enterprise’s policy and Tribal Nations and rural teams are working together to advance Tribal sovereignty, combat disinvestment and redlining on Tribal land, and increase housing opportunities and stability for Native communities around the country. 

Could mall-to-housing conversion be a part of addressing the country’s affordable housing shortage? In a new white paper, Enterprise senior research analyst Ahmad Abu-Khalaf examines the promise and challenges of converting malls into affordable housing. We spoke with two developers featured in the white paper.