The thought has crossed the minds of virtually every resident in this area: “Why is it so expensive to live here?”

Neighborhoods that have long been home to people with low to moderate incomes are now far less affordable. Many residents have been priced out. Constrained housing supply, coupled with regional growth, pushes up costs for existing housing.

But according to a new report released Wednesday from the Urban Institute, there are ways Washington-area leaders can fix the problem. Doing so won’t be easy, the report notes, but it says our region is well-equipped to make it happen.

“Our purpose was to provide the evidence-based foundation for leaders to set targets and take action,” says Gustavo Velasquez, director of the Urban Institute’s local research initiative, on WAMU’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show. “It’s time for action.”

Among the actions the study recommends is for business leaders and local governments work together to establish 10-year targets, including:

• Shrink the current affordability gap. Today, the number of housing units in the low-cost range falls short of household needs by 264,000.
• Increase the pace of new housing production. Estimates show that the region needs 374,000 additional housing units by 2030; faster growth would require more.
• Align additional housing units with expected needs and resources. To match the expected distribution of additional households, the region needs at least 40 percent of the housing units added to fall in the middle-cost range.

Researchers say state governments also have a role to play: Virginia and Maryland should provide the additional authority and funding their cities and counties need. Meanwhile, local businesses and philanthropists should contribute to public-private partnerships.

In the process, Velasquez says, it’s important to preserve existing homes that people with low incomes can afford, produce enough new housing (especially at middle-cost) to keep pace with growth, and protect renters and homeowners from discrimination and displacement.

Research shows that housing challenges like those particular to this region can undermine worker productivity, increase the difficulty businesses face in attracting and retaining employees, and discourage businesses from locating here.

“We hear the reality of other places like Seattle and San Francisco, we have the opportunity to reverse course now so we don’t have the same affordability crisis and it doesn’t get even worse,” Velasquez says.

“Different income classes are competing for the same housing,” says Maya Brennan, who co-authored the report. “That’s the problem we run into in a city and a region where we don’t actually have enough housing for all of the people here.”

The work already in progress

The report also acknowledges how leaders across the region have already taken the steps to reduce the current affordability gap and meet the housing needs of newcomers. Mayor Muriel Bowser has set a goal for D.C.: 36,000 new housing units by 2025 — 12,000 of them affordable.

In Virginia, Arlington and Fairfax counties have donated public land for housing developments affordable for people earning 60 percent or less of the area median income.

And in Montgomery County, Maryland, officials have the option to purchase or lease up to a third of homes built through the inclusionary zoning program and make them more affordable to people who need it most.

“There’s a lot of policies that are regularly discussed, but sometimes we are not using the policy authority that we already have,” says Brennan. “In places that are already zoned for higher density, for instance, increasing allowable density is not necessarily going to get people to change their mind about how many units to build there. But if they were taxed based on the value of the land that they’re holding, and how many units that land might accommodate, there becomes a financial incentive to increase density on that spot.”

The region’s continued success hinges on a well-functioning housing market. Brennan adds more affordable housing close to jobs boost workers’ reliability. And these vibrant neighborhoods will, in turn, fuel regional growth and prosperity.

This story was first published on WAMU.