The Housing Crisis Comes to Middle America

Keywords: housing, Ohio, affordable housing, construction
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Before the pandemic, when scholars and planners referred to the ‘housing crisis’ in the U.S., they typically referred to issues faced by high-priced, primarily coastal metros beset by rising prices that either shut out low-income households or left those who could find housing with inexorable housing cost burdens. While these cities were certainly not the only ones beset by these issues, they received the bulk of popular attention due to their size, the scale of housing issues, and (arguably) the fact that most national journalists reside in them.

This paper examines housing issues in a small-to-mid sized community in northern Ohio. Recent price increases have pushed housing prices out of reach for many homebuyers, while prices in the community remain remarkably affordable to outside buyers and investors. Furthermore, the recent increases in construction input costs, such as lumber as well as labor, have made it unprofitable to develop housing in the community.