Affordable housing, thematic investment, report by PRI (Principles for responsible investment)

Affordable housing is crucial for social development and social equality; around 1.6 billion people are housed inadequately, of which around one billion live in slums and informal settlements. Between $300 billion and $400 billion in mortgage issuance a year could be needed by 2025 to fund purchases of new affordable housing – equal to about 7% of global new mortgage origination volume in 2025.

While affordable housing is an urgent need for marginalised groups and low-income populations, there is also a huge need to fill this gap in emerging and developed economies. Over 11.4 million extremely low income (ELI) renter households in the US – whose income is no more than 30% of their area median income or the poverty guidelines – face a shortage of 7.4 million affordable and available rental homes. Nationally, only 35 affordable homes are available for every 100 ELI renter households and there is a shortage in every state and major metropolitan area.