FAQ
Are new home developments driving up rent?
Look at the data and draw your own conclusions!
More Homes = Less Competition
When we build more housing, we ease the competition for existing homes. That means fewer people bidding on the same apartment. Folks who can afford new units move into them, freeing up older, more affordable homes for others.
This process, called filtering, helps keep neighborhoods more affordable over time.
A 2021 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that new market-rate housing in low-income areas lowered nearby rents by 5 to 7%.
A 2022 review of 100+ housing studies found that increasing the housing supply leads to lower rents citywide—not just next door.
A study on Chicago upzoning found no evidence that allowing more housing led to displacement or rent spikes in surrounding blocks.
Blocking Housing Leads to Higher Rents
The places with the worst affordability problems—like San Francisco, Boston, and New York—are also the places where it’s hardest to build housing. That’s not a coincidence.
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A 2005 study by Glaeser and Gyourko found that restrictive zoning drives up home prices by artificially limiting supply.
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A 2015 study by Hsieh and Moretti found that high housing costs in places like California were costing the U.S. economy over $1 trillion a year by keeping people out of high-opportunity areas.
In other words, not building enough housing is what actually causes rent to go up.
But What About Gentrification?
It’s true that neighborhoods change when new investment comes in. But studies show that new housing itself isn't the cause of displacement—in fact, it can help reduce it.
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A 2019 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that new development in gentrifying neighborhoods had no measurable effect on displacement of lower-income residents.
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A 2020 study published in PNAS found that low-income people in gentrifying neighborhoods were less likely to move out than those in similar, non-gentrifying neighborhoods likely due to improved amenities and housing conditions.
Bottom Line
If we want to make Haverhill a place where all kinds of people can afford to live, we need to build more homes. It’s not the only solution—but it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.