The May column looks at the vanishing supply of affordable housing in the District. Since 2000, DC lost half of its low-cost rental units and more than 70 percent of its low-value homes. The startling loss of low-cost housing was in large part to due to the rapid rise in housing costs. Over the last decade, rents for a one-bedroom apartment rose by 50 percent, beyond inflation, and home values nearly doubled. At the same time, the incomes of most DC households haven’t kept pace, meaning than more and more households now put more than half of their paycheck each month toward housing. For low-income families, this leaves them little left over each month for other basic necessities like food, clothing, and transportation.