The City of Champaign is now seeking community input for the Housing Needs Analysis and Strategy, the City’s first comprehensive housing study in more than fifteen years. Amid a nationwide housing crisis, the City is advancing efforts to understand and quantify Champaign’s housing needs. Whether it is finding and buying a home, attaining and affording an apartment, or finding shelter for the unhoused, many community members face serious challenges when it comes to securing housing. The study will ultimately propose a variety of strategies to meet these challenges, and resident input via a survey is an integral part of this effort.
The barriers to accessing housing are more challenging than ever. Factors defining the local housing affordability crisis range from rising purchase and rental costs to decreased construction activity and a lack of housing choice and variety. According to the Zillow Observed Rent Index, market rate rents have increased by 57% from 2015 to 2024 in Champaign, while the cost to purchase a home has increased by 63%.
To gather information from the public about housing in Champaign, the City has launched two surveys. The first is a brief Community Housing Survey, which is open to the public and being used to better understand local housing needs. The second is a Landlord Survey, which will be available to landlords in order to gain an understanding of the local rental housing market (e.g., vacancy rates, number of units, etc.). These surveys will provide crucial insights into the housing market and challenges experienced by residents and housing providers.
No one understands the city’s housing challenges better than the people who call Champaign home. We invite all residents to share their valuable input by taking the Community Housing Survey today.