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The interplay between market rate and affordable housing rents is the subject of the most recent national housing report from Yardi Matrix.
For purposes of the report, rent costs are “affordable” when they do not exceed 30% of a household’s gross income. A property is “fully affordable” when at least 90% of its units have income restrictions tied to subsidies.
Matrix analysts found that about one-third of the top 30 U.S. metros are highly competitive, meaning that rents for market rate and fully affordable properties are affordable to households earning similar incomes. Another third of those metros are moderately competitive, while the remaining third have less than 25% of units in competition.
“Competitiveness is important because it correlates to demand for affordable housing,” the report notes.
A key factor influencing competitiveness is absolute levels of market rents. In metros where average advertised rents exceed $2,500, such as New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, market rate properties rarely compete with affordable housing. Meanwhile, metros such as Las Vegas, Houston and Detroit, whose average rents are below $1,500, show moderate to high levels of competitiveness.
The report also outlines recent positive developments for affordable housing, such as funding increases for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Opportunity Zone and other programs that incentivize development. It additionally cites impediments to increasing the nation’s affordable housing stock posed by rising materials, labor and regulatory costs.
Get details on all the key issues in the U.S. affordable housing market from the new Yardi Matrix National Affordable Housing Report for September 2025.
