Business and affordable housing advocates have said for years that affordable housing shortages undercut efforts to attract or retain businesses here. But alleviating those shortages would do more than help businesses do business here. “It stand to reason that building or rehabilitating affordable housing creates jobs in the construction field,” according to the Center for Housing Policy. “Less obvious is that this activity ripples through the economy, supporting businesses that supply the construction trade as well as retailers, health services, and restaurants where newly employed workers spend their pay.
For example, the National Association of Homebuilders estimates that building 100 new low-income units with federal tax credits generate 120 construction jobs. But the benefit doesn’t end there. “Once the paint is dry and the homes are occupied, new residents continue to support roughly 30 jobs in a wide array of industries.” Further, newly built affordable homes generate new state and local fee and tax revenue and improve property values (“The Role of Affordable Housing in Creating Jobs and Stimulating Local Economic Development,” Insights from Housing Policy Research, Center for Housing Policy, January 2011).
