{"id":9993,"date":"2026-01-23T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/?p=9993"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:42:53","slug":"affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable Housing Market Report &#8211; January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\">Read the latest Yardi Matrix <strong><a href=\"\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report\/\">Affordable Housing Market Report<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>Federal policy changes aim to boost affordable housing production.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-highlights\">Highlights:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Opportunity Zone and Difficult Development Areas encompass 6.4 million units nationwide.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of these, 5.1 million are market-rate and 1.3 million are fully affordable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under construction and planned units across OZs and DDAs add up to 348,000 units.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The figure might grow larger through policy alterations that expand OZs and enhance the eligibility to attain DDA benefits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-policy-changes-further-emphasize-location-for-affordable-housing\">Policy changes further emphasize location for affordable housing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Federal policies changed throughout 2025, placing greater emphasis on a property\u2019s location, aligning capital with local affordability needs. These measures include the Opportunity Zone program extension and LIHTC improvements in the 4 and 9 percent categories, as well as an increase in eligibility for Difficult Development Area benefits. These enactments aim to improve the feasibility of projects in low-income and high-cost areas through the OZ and DDA programs, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe title=\"Metros With the Most Units Completed in OZs\" aria-label=\"Table\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-HOirZ\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/HOirZ\/1\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"552\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DDAs debuted together with the LIHTC program in 1986, whereby such areas would provide developers with additional tax credits, should their project qualify for LIHTC. Projects inside DDAs could be eligible for a 30% basis boost, increasing equity and reducing debt exposure in areas where land, materials and operating costs are prohibitive to development. Companies pursued DDA affordable projects across Sun Belt markets that witnessed strong population growth and high construction costs, which narrowed margins. Phoenix is one such example, where planned and underway apartments make up 90 percent of affordable DDA stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OZs propose attracting development in low-income areas instead, and they offer tax incentives in exchange. A clear-cut example of an OZ-bolstered pipeline is found in Salt Lake City, where 1,656 fully affordable units are under construction, representing 27.2% of total stock. Austin is another such market, in which suburban expansion and an inflow of migration fostered an environment for a strong construction cycle across OZs. Austin\u2019s 1,984 fully affordable units account for 21.1% of inventory, a share higher than Columbus (16%) and Raleigh-Durham (12.7%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-two-complementary-non-competing-incentives\">Two complementary, non-competing incentives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nationally, OZs and DDAs encompass 6.4 million apartments, of which 5.1 million are rented out at market-rate, while the remaining 1.3 million are income-restricted. The potential for growth is high, with 348,000 units across all stages of development found throughout OZs and DDAs combined. The extent to which the federal policy changes will bolster production depends on interest rates, capital availability and construction labor constraints, as well as local entitlement environments. Yet, what is certain is that such incentives not only influence whether projects pencil out but also dictate where capital concentrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DDAs and OZs are complementary tools, rather than competing policies. Understanding the nuances and differences between the two is imperative for market participants to reduce risk and improve capital efficiency. Therefore, figuring out which incentive best aligns with a market\u2019s underlying cost, demand and capital dynamics is a task that befalls investors and developers. Participants who choose construction sites, underwrite and deploy capital accordingly, will align to better capture the next wave of affordable housing production, according to Paul Fiorilla, director of research at Yardi Matrix, and Jacob Gonzales, senior research analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read the full Yardi Matrix Affordable Housing Market Report:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/publications\/download\/File\/8238-MatrixAffordableHousingReport-January2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">January 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal policy changes aim to boost affordable housing production. Highlights: Policy changes further emphasize location for affordable housing Federal policies changed throughout 2025, placing greater emphasis on a property\u2019s location, aligning capital with local affordability needs. These measures include the Opportunity Zone program extension and LIHTC improvements in the 4 and 9 percent categories, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3471,"featured_media":9869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13,4],"tags":[244,519],"class_list":["post-9993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multifamily-market","category-national-reports","category-real-estate-trends","tag-affordable-housing","tag-multifamily-outlook-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Affordable Housing Market Report - January 2026 - Yardi Matrix Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get the latest Yardi Matrix affordable housing market report for up-to-date data on market fundamentals and much more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affordable Housing Market Report - January 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Get the latest Yardi Matrix affordable housing market report for up-to-date data on market fundamentals and much more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Matrix Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T12:03:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T13:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claudiu Tiganescu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claudiu Tiganescu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Affordable Housing Market Report - January 2026 - Yardi Matrix Blog","description":"Get the latest Yardi Matrix affordable housing market report for up-to-date data on market fundamentals and much more.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Affordable Housing Market Report - January 2026","og_description":"Get the latest Yardi Matrix affordable housing market report for up-to-date data on market fundamentals and much more.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/","og_site_name":"Yardi Matrix Blog","article_published_time":"2026-01-23T12:03:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-18T13:42:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Claudiu Tiganescu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Claudiu Tiganescu","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Claudiu Tiganescu","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cbed638584257d6fb5a2a9c95c982b66"},"headline":"Affordable Housing Market Report &#8211; January 2026","datePublished":"2026-01-23T12:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T13:42:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/"},"wordCount":508,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","keywords":["Affordable Housing","Multifamily Outlook 2026"],"articleSection":["Multifamily Market","National Reports","Real Estate Trends"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/","name":"Affordable Housing Market Report - January 2026 - Yardi Matrix Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-01-23T12:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T13:42:53+00:00","description":"Get the latest Yardi Matrix affordable housing market report for up-to-date data on market fundamentals and much more.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Image by Caleb\/AdobeStock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/affordable-housing-market-report-january-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Affordable Housing Market Report &#8211; January 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/","name":"Yardi Matrix Blog","description":"Stay current with the latest commercial real estate market trends and forecasts","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Yardi Matrix","url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2020\/11\/Inline_Matrix_Color_es-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2020\/11\/Inline_Matrix_Color_es-1.jpg","width":200,"height":39,"caption":"Yardi Matrix"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/yardi-matrix\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCRHgAZL4YoyeNEdiRN5uj0g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cbed638584257d6fb5a2a9c95c982b66","name":"Claudiu Tiganescu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad3061acf1214ba59be28d02edef0ecaabcb0a42f68154df1afd2d8b6adac9ec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad3061acf1214ba59be28d02edef0ecaabcb0a42f68154df1afd2d8b6adac9ec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Claudiu Tiganescu"},"description":"Claudiu Tiganescu is an Associate Editor with Multi-Housing News and Commercial Property Executive. With a Bachelor's in English, a minor in Norwegian, and a Master's in linguistics, Claudiu is your go-to source for the latest commercial real estate news, particularly in the affordable, single-family rental, conversions and industrial sectors. You may reach him at claudiu.tiganescu@cpe-mhn.com","url":""}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2025\/10\/AdobeStock_329391997-Yardi.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3471"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9993"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10001,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9993\/revisions\/10001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardimatrix.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}