Vacant Affordable Homes Highlight the U.S. Housing Gap for the Poorest

Despite about 4 million affordable units, the poorest Americans struggle to find housing because most LIHTC-funded homes target around 50% AMI or higher and vacancies are rising as rents near market rate; voucher funding is limited with long waitlists, leaving many extremely low‑income renters stuck in homelessness or paying unaffordable rents, as shown by double-digit vacancy rates for 60% AMI units in cities like Austin, Denver and Portland.