Metro presents Unified Housing Strategy, says city needs 90,000 homes over 10 years

Metro Nashville Housing Division staff presented the Unified Housing Strategy (UHS) at a public virtual meeting in May 2025, outlining a 10-year plan that estimates the city will need more than 90,000 new homes over the next decade and calling for broad public, private and philanthropic collaboration to meet that demand.

The strategy matters, the presenters said, because housing production has not kept pace with demand and affordability has worsened: both rent and homeownership costs have grown faster than median incomes, displacing lower-income households and increasing housing instability.

Travis Miller, housing policy and programs coordinator for the Metro Nashville Housing Division, said the UHS is “a shared call to action and a call to collective ownership” that relies on Metro and external partners to align resources, preserve existing affordable units, create new income‑restricted housing, prevent displacement and expand access to services. Miller led the public presentation and answered resident questions during the feedback period, which the division said is open through May 30, 2025.

Key findings presented by the division included a continued increase in housing demand tied to job growth and household formation, constrained production since 2008, worsening affordability across income levels and a shortfall of deeply affordable housing. The consultant HR&A Advisors estimates the 10‑year need at more than 90,000 units (roughly 9,000 units per year), including market‑rate and affordable housing. The presentation said roughly 20,000 of those units should be affordable to households earning at or below 60% of area median income (AMI), with priority for households at or below 30% AMI.

The division defined “affordable housing” for program purposes as units restricted to households earning at or below 80% of AMI. Using HUD’s 2024 AMI for the Nashville region, the presenters said 100% AMI was $74,850 for a single household and $106,900 for a four‑person household; 80% AMI therefore equates to $59,850 for a single person and $85,500 for a family of four. The presenters said 2025 AMI figures were received and would be posted in June 2025 on the division’s website and affordable housing dashboard.

Presentation data cited several affordability indicators: the average home value in Davidson County was reported at about $421,000, whereas an affordable home value for the median household was estimated at roughly $330,000, creating an approximate $90,000 affordability gap. The presentation said home values in Davidson County rose about 40% since 2019 while incomes grew roughly 19% over the same period. As of May 2024, the presentation said there were about 350 homes listed for sale affordable to the median household in the county.

The division also highlighted rising housing instability: eviction filings were reported as up about 45% compared with pre‑pandemic levels, with a peak of 1,478 filings in February 2024. Presenters emphasized that even when tenants prevail in court, eviction judgments can create long‑term barriers to future housing.

To address the needs, the UHS sets out seven strategies the division described in the presentation: - Strategy A: Enhance and align Nashville’s housing ecosystem, including creating an executive‑level position in the mayor’s office to coordinate housing efforts, increase interagency collaboration and expand Metro’s implementation capacity. - Strategy B: Optimize and grow financial and resource support, including maximizing existing tools such as the Barnes Fund, building partnerships with philanthropic and corporate sectors, establishing underwriting capacity and exploring new sustainable funding sources. - Strategy C: Create a range of new and affordable housing choices, with actions like evaluating zoning and land‑use policies, leveraging publicly owned land, developing a mixed‑income finance toolkit and prioritizing deeply affordable rental housing for vulnerable populations. - Strategy D: Keep homeowners in their homes and expand affordable homeownership opportunities by targeting public funds to households with the greatest barriers and supporting home repair and maintenance programs. - Strategy E: Create permanent housing options for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including prioritizing vouchers, advancing the Homelessness Planning Council’s strategic plan and developing strategies for permanent supportive housing. The presenters noted the recent opening of Strobel House as an example of a Metro‑supported permanent supportive housing project. - Strategy F: Preserve and protect long‑term affordability through tools such as community land trusts, long‑term ground leases, the catalyst fund for preservation and a countywide database to monitor deed‑restricted affordable properties. - Strategy G: Strengthen housing security for renters and improve access to resources, including supporting the Eviction Rights to Counsel program, expanding HUB Nashville, increasing language access and promoting fair housing efforts.

Presenters emphasized legal and policy constraints set by state law. Miller said state legislative restrictions prevent Metro from instituting local rent control, imposing affordability requirements on private property sales, or enacting tenant protections more restrictive than state law allows. Metro staff told attendees that there is more flexibility for city‑funded affordable housing programs than for actions that would regulate private markets.

Public participants asked several questions during the presentation. A resident who identified themself as Jamie said there were “200,000 individuals that work in and around Nashville that can't afford housing” and asked how the UHS would address that workforce need; Miller responded that the UHS strategies aim to expand funding, streamline production and support services to increase housing supply across AMI bands. Another participant, Wendy Allen, asked how the division is notifying communities about engagement opportunities; staff said outreach included a press release, social media notices (X and Instagram), contact lists and community ambassadors, and urged attendees to complete the UHS feedback form at nashville.gov/uhs.

The division said the UHS is a living document intended to be implemented via a 10‑year implementation plan and annual policy and priority updates tied to Metro’s budget process. Staff encouraged attendees to review the full UHS, the implementation plan available at nashville.gov/uhs and to submit feedback through May 30, 2025. The presentation noted related ongoing efforts, including the Metro Nashville Planning Department’s housing and infrastructure study and the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s annual action plan for federal funds such as Community Development Block Grant and HOME program dollars.

No formal votes or binding Metro legislative actions were taken during the public presentation; the meeting was a staff presentation with a public feedback period and scheduled follow‑up presentations to other bodies, including the Planning Commission and the Housing Trust Fund.