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DreamKey presents city survey showing widespread housing instability and student-driven rental pressure in Columbia
Summary
DreamKey Partners told the City of Columbia Town & Gown Committee that its 2025 outreach and survey found elevated housing instability (reported as 35%) and community concerns that off‑campus student housing and investor conversions are pushing rents; the group urged aligning university growth plans with housing strategy.
Erin Farbee, chief strategy officer for DreamKey Partners, presented the results of the nonprofit’s 2025 community engagement work to the City of Columbia Town & Gown Committee, saying the outreach included events, roundtables and a citywide survey. "Thirty‑five percent of residents reported experiencing housing instability," Farbee told the committee, a figure she characterized as “significantly higher than expected for a mid‑sized city.”
Farbee said DreamKey captured survey responses across multiple ZIP codes and age groups and that the primary driver named by respondents was a gap between housing costs and household income. She said 715 respondents (reported in presentation as…
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