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Housing

Covid-19 Is Killing Affordable Housing, Just as It’s Needed Most

After the eviction cliff, a different U.S. housing crisis looms: Low-cost home production is lagging, thanks to construction slowdowns and budget cuts.  

Workers roofing an apartment complex in Uniondale, New York. Many residential projects face construction delays and materials shortages, deepening the already serious gap in the U.S. low-cost housing supply. 

Workers roofing an apartment complex in Uniondale, New York. Many residential projects face construction delays and materials shortages, deepening the already serious gap in the U.S. low-cost housing supply. 

Photographer: Al Bello/Getty Images 

By
Patrick Sisson

Typically, June 30 is the biggest day for affordable housing deals in New York City. It’s the end of the fiscal year, so developers race to close deals to get funding approval and get started building, says Rafael Cestero, president and chief executive officer of the New York-based Community Preservation Corporation. One of the nation’s largest financial backers of affordable housing, the nonprofit he leads has a $3.5 billion portfolio of active construction loans and mortgages. 

But this year, Cestero says, no deals closed that day — something he’s never seen in his 30 years in the business.