The term housing crisis refers to acute failures in the housing market at a given place and time. Depending on the context and the speaker, the term has taken on substantially different meanings.[1] A prominent current use, for example, refers to shortages of available housing in the United States and other countries, but it has also been used to describe financial crises related to the real estate sector.
Following the first definition, the term "Housing crisis" or "affordability crisis" is currently used in the United States and other English-speaking countries to refer to widespread shortages of housing in certain regions where people want to live. These shortages, caused in part by regulatory barriers to new construction, have had consequences such as elevated regional homelessness, housing insecurity, and high housing costs. Within this context, the term housing crisis has been applied to a number of different manifestations, with different causes and consequences. One California housing researcher, for example, chronicled at least thirteen ways in which the term "housing crisis" has been applied to shortage and affordability issues, indicating that there is not one "housing crisis" but instead a "web of problems and dysfunctions".[2] Even in regions that are not experiencing an overall housing shortage, for example, the term housing crisis has been used to refer to a shortages for specific segments of the population, such as a shortage of dedicated affordable housing for very-low income populations or permanent supportive housing for those with disabilities.
As a second definition, the term has also been used to refer to financial crises tied to the housing sector, conceptually distinct from issues related to housing shortages. In the past, the term was used in the United States to refer to problems in the financial sector related to instruments tied to housing, such as the sub-prime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008. Similarly, "housing crisis" has been used to describe financial problems in the Chinese property sector that began in 2020 and are ongoing.
- ^ Rudy, Melissa (2020-11-25). "'Housing Crisis' Can Take On Different Meanings: Here Are 5 Examples". HomeLight Blog. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Menendian, Stephen (November 30, 2022). "Deconstructing the 'Housing Crisis'". belonging.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-30.