The Source

"This is a two-headed monster of both housing affordability and housing availability," explained Adam Bosch of Pattern for Progress. "We underbuilt for twenty years after the recession, then saw an influx of second homes, short-term rentals, remote workers, and corporate buyers." 

Some 60–70,000 newcomers purchased homes during COVID—often over asking price—driving up costs and spilling demand into the rental market. Bosch added that shrinking household size alone has fueled significant new demand, even without population growth.

Changing Definitions

When we talk about affordable housing, it's not one fixed number—it's a proportion of what a household earns. The federal benchmark says families should spend no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. 

What's affordable for one household may be out of reach for another; it depends entirely on income. But once families start spending 40, 50, even 60 percent of what they make on housing, there's little left for food, transportation, or other essentials. That strain doesn't just affect individuals—it slows the entire regional economy, because when families can't spend on local goods and services, the businesses that depend on them feel it too. 

The good news is that more people are recognizing this. Across the Hudson Valley, there's a growing consensus that communities need more housing—and more of it priced within reach. As one panelist put it, people are seeing the problem up close: a son or daughter moving back home after college, a parent on a fixed income, an employee or coworker unable to find an apartment nearby. Those real-life experiences have turned into real public support, with more elected officials, community groups, and residents now backing efforts to expand affordable housing. 

What’s Working—and What’s Needed

Panelists agreed that addressing the housing crisis requires both immediate action and long-term planning. “We simply have to build more housing,” said Kevin O’Connor of RUPCO. They stressed that the region needs development across the full spectrum to meet demand for diverse lifestyles and income levels. 

Encouragingly, progress is already visible across the Hudson Valley. Counties are employing a mix of strategies, including dedicated housing funds to help developers bridge financing gaps—five of the seven such funds in New York State are located here. Industrial Development Agencies are also recognizing housing as economic infrastructure: essential for attracting and retaining a workforce, and central to business growth. 

State and local governments are expanding tools such as historic tax credits, accessory dwelling unit programs, landlord incentive and rehabilitation funds, and new initiatives to promote affordable homeownership. 

Communities are aligning local policies, capital, and planning resources to build housing where it’s most needed—within cities, villages, and key transit corridors. These efforts reflect a growing understanding that solving the crisis requires coordinated action across sectors. Continued progress will depend in large part on modernizing zoning laws. Form-based codes, like Kingston’s, streamline approvals and emphasize design over rigid use categories.