Transformation of housing affordability indicators in the context of structural shifts in housing construction

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to adapt the methodology for assessing housing affordability to the structural shift in favor of individual housing construction in the regions. The article analyzes the dynamics of the housing sector in the Irkutsk region in 2020-2025, where a significant increase in housing starts has not led to a proportional increase in its accessibility to the population. The main research methods were statistical analysis, segmental decomposition and mathematical modeling, which made it possible to integrate indicators for various types of buildings. The paper proposes a methodology for calculating the modified housing affordability coefficient and the modified housing affordability index, taking into account the weight shares of individual housing construction and apartment buildings in the total input. The results of the study showed that the use of standard metrics without taking into account the cost of land and the cost of engineering infrastructure distorts the real picture of accessibility in the sector of individual housing construction. The verification confirmed that the proposed toolkit provides a more accurate assessment and methodological transparency. The findings indicate the need to switch to dual assessment systems that take into account regional specifics and the structure of supply, which will allow the authorities to more effectively manage housing policy and increase the real availability of housing for households.