SALEM –The City of Salem today issued the 2026 report card on the community’s current five-year Housing Roadmap. The City of Salem adopted its Housing Roadmap in December of 2022 and is now nearly four years through its implementation. The Housing Roadmap establishes a shared housing vision that has guided the City’s planning and policy initiatives in recent years. Through a community process, the City identified 30 strategies to help realize the community’s housing vision. With 75% of the Roadmap’s timeframe passed now, the City presents this report card to update the community on the City’s housing needs and track progress toward the 2027 housing goals.
“We’ve made good progress on many of the strategies called for in our current Housing Roadmap, and we’re seeing benefits from those actions, but there’s certainly more to do,” remarked Mayor Dominick Pangallo, “I appreciate the hard work of the City staff, volunteer board members, fellow public officials, and community partners and advocates who have all played a role in advancing these strategies. We continue to believe that everyone in Salem deserves a roof over their head, and one that they can afford. The path outlined by our Roadmap provides us with clear direction how we can achieve that goal together.” – Dominick Pangallo
“Behind every housing statistic is a person, a family, or a senior wondering whether they will be able to remain in the community they call home,” said Lori Stewart, Housing Stability Coordinator for the City of Salem, “That is why the Housing Roadmap is such an important document. It provides a clear blueprint for addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time: ensuring that everyone has access to a safe, stable, and affordable place to live. The solutions to our housing crisis must be twofold. We need to create more housing opportunities across Salem while also strengthening protections that help tenants remain housed and prevent displacement. By combining thoughtful planning, housing production, tenant protections, and housing stability services, Salem is demonstrating that communities can take meaningful action to make housing more attainable and secure for all residents.”
“We continue to explore and support innovative policy approaches that address the acute and pressing housing needs of families and individuals in our community, shared Dr. Thomas Piñeros Shields, Vice Chair of the City of Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board, “This work includes several priorities outlined in the Housing Roadmap, such as the feasibility of community land trusts and zoning amendments to support single-room occupancy or efficiency housing in Salem.”
The report outlines the status of all 30 strategies identified in the 2022 Housing Roadmap. As of November, 2026, 15 of those strategies have been completed and another nine are in progress. However, six strategies have not yet started. Among the completed items, regulations around condo conversions are in place, inclusionary housing rules have been established, the City’s housing rehabilitation program has been supported, and a housing stability position has been created within the Mayor’s office, among several other important advancements.
The report card highlights that all of this occurs within the context of a challenging housing landscape. Between 2022 and 2026, Salem’s median single-family home sale prices rose by 13% and median condo sale prices rose by 14%, signaling continued affordability challenges for both single-family home and condominium buyers. Between January and August 2020 and the same period in 2026, the average rents in Salem increased by 10%, rising from $2,000 to $2,196.
Salem continues to see housing unites converted to condos each year. While this number peaked in 2022 at 107 units, the pace of conversions remains steady.
A healthy housing market has a natural vacancy rate of ~6% for rental units and ~2% for owned properties. Most recently, Salem had a vacancy rate of 2.6% for rental units and 0% for owned properties. When vacancy rates are low, it indicates there is not enough supply, which then drives up housing costs.
Between 2019 and 2022, 220 housing units (51%) of the 432 total housing units that were approved are affordable. 144 of these units have been built, 251 units are currently under construction, and 37 units have not yet started construction. Between 2023 and 2026, 612 (34%) of the 1,815 total housing units approved or in the pipeline are affordable. Looking ahead, 690 total housing units are expected to enter the permitting pipeline within the next year. Of the approved units, 17 units have been built, 473 are currently under construction, and 635 have not yet started construction.
As of the most recent measure in 2024, Salem is comprised of 50% owner-occupied and 50% renter-occupied housing units.
Between 2022 and 2024, the percent of cost-burdened households (defined as a household that experiences housing costs that exceed 30% of income) has remained unchanged at 42%.
For more information about the City’s housing goals and work to achieve them, visit ImagineSalem.org.
