Corporate Responses to the Housing Supply Crisis

America’s underproduction of housing is so severe, companies of all sizes are beginning to take notice and act. Fast-rising housing costs in communities across the country increasingly prevent companies from recruiting top talent, particularly in some of America’s most economically vibrant, thriving, and well-resourced metros.

This blog—as well as the Terwilliger Center’s next webinar in our housing supply series—explores how companies are approaching and promoting housing affordability for their workforces and in their communities. Though not an exhaustive list of the actions being taken to build more affordable housing, these examples show the many ways in which the private sector can help address this pressing national concern.

Amazon: Amazon has created a Housing Equity Fund, guided by the belief that “[a]ll people should have access to housing they can afford.” As the company noted in the fund’s mission statement, “[w]hile only governments at the local, state, and federal level have the capacity to implement more effective housing policies, we believe the private and public sectors can work together to address this challenge.” Amazon, much like Apple, is concentrating its efforts and investments where the company has a physical presence and sizable workforce—namely Seattle, WA; Arlington, VA; and Nashville, TN.

Amazon has pledged more than $2 billion to help respond to the affordable housing challenges in these areas specifically, and throughout the country more generally. To date, Amazon has established 20 partnerships with nonprofits, public housing agencies, and affordable housing developers, in addition to allocating more than $1.2 billion in loan and grant commitments to bolster the supply of affordable homes. In this way the company is investing both directly in housing—such as the development of an eight-floor, $100 million homeless shelter in Seattle—as well as indirectly— via their commitment to increase the number of minority real estate developers through training and mentorship initiatives.

Apple: In late 2019, Apple pledged $2.5 billion in funding to strengthen affordable housing initiatives across California, home to the tech-giant’s international headquarters. Like most states in the nation, California faces a worrying lack of affordable and available homes. In 2019, 59% of California’s 5.9 million renter households were burdened by housing costs, spending upwards of 30% of their incomes on rent and utilities. As the most populous state in the Union, California also has the largest homeless population in the nation.

To address the deficit of affordable and available homes, Apple has committed itself to a multifaceted strategy aimed at alleviating housing cost burdens broadly across the state. Of the $2.5 billion committed, Apple plans to allocate $1 billion to an “affordable housing investment fund” in partnership with the California state government, $1 billion to a first-time homebuyers mortgage assistance fund, and $200 million to increasing the supply of affordable homes throughout Silicon Valley. Other initiatives include assistance for homeless populations throughout the state, and the opening of Apple-owned land to be used for affordable housing projects in the future.

Dartmouth Health: In 2019, Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s second largest employer, was unable to fill nearly 10% of its vacant jobs largely due to regional housing challenges. Despite its international reputation and status as a well-regarded health system, insufficient housing infrastructure prevented DH from recruiting and retaining the requisite high-caliber and well-credentialed workforce a health system needs to provide optimal care. In a study DH commissioned, the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College found that 42% of renters and 33% of homeowners spent more than 30% of their income on housing expenses in Dartmouth Health’s home communities in 2019.

In response, DH has taken it upon itself to find solutions for the region’s lack of affordable and available homes. Since 2020, it has been working with housing developers to construct “workforce housing” units as an affordable alternative to what the market currently offers. Though a single project will not fully eliminate the 5,000 unit deficit throughout the Upper Valley, it represents a thoughtful step towards ensuring ample housing opportunities exist for this critical healthcare provider.

Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo has pledged to spend $1 billion through 2025 in philanthropy efforts to “address the U.S. housing affordability crisis, including homelessness, available and affordable rentals, transitioning housing and home ownership.” Like Apple and Amazon, Wells Fargo provides both direct and indirect support to promote housing affordability. One example is the NeighborhoodLIFT program. Aimed at low- and moderate-income homebuyers, the program provides zero-interest down payment assistance to eligible borrowers, and has aided more than 21,000 homeowners across the nation since its inception in 2012.

In 2019, Wells Fargo also announced a $20 million “Housing Affordability Challenge,” providing grant money for programs that seek “new, more rapid ways to increase the availability and sustainability of affordable housing.” As of 2020, six teams have been selected out of the more than 900 proposals received, with each receiving $2.5 million in funding to continue their work to develop and scale breakthrough ideas designed to close the affordable housing gap. The selected initiatives fall into one of three categories: housing construction innovations; housing finance reform; and resident services and supports.

On April 21, the J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy will host a webinar featuring representatives from Amazon, Wells Fargo, and Dartmouth Health to highlight the steps they are taking to respond to the housing needs of their respective regions and companies. From investing directly in new housing to advocating for meaningful policy change, the approaches taken by these organizations will serve as the basis for a worthwhile and energized conversation.

Late last year, the Terwilliger Center launched the Getting Serious About Housing Supply Series—monthly webinars highlighting different aspects of America’s critical shortage of affordable homes and potential policy solutions to address it. These events have explored a broad range of topics affecting our nation’s housing supply, including the impact of restrictive land use and zoning policies, the cost and complexity of housing subsidies, and promising innovations that could reduce housing construction costs.