June 06, 2024

A new report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations highlights the state’s growing housing crisis, with median home prices skyrocketing by 44 percent since 2019, surpassing the national average. The report identified single-family zoning as a barrier to affordable housing, limiting housing supply and driving up costs statewide.

In 2022, 16.6 percent of renters had been in their homes for 10 years or more, compared with 13.9 percent in 2012. Many renters aren’t moving because homeownership is out of reach. Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari notes, “Staying in the same home means they’re likely to face smaller rent increases, and they’re saving money on moving costs and application fees.”

The Affordable Connectivity Program, an initiative that helped pay for broadband access for more than 23 million households with low incomes, ran out of money on May 31, 2024. Recent efforts to secure additional funding have failed despite the program’s massive success in making internet connectivity affordable and accessible for millions, particularly Black and other households of color and rural households.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $150 million in competitive grant funding for affordable housing on tribal lands to help fill a 68,000-home gap. The funding, in addition to the $1.1 billion HUD committed to tribal housing and community development nationwide in May, shows a commitment to increasing access to federal funds for Native communities and a desire to encourage autonomy in how the funds are used.