The Missing Middle: How Innovative Finance Enables Attainable Housing for Essential Workers

2025-09-29

Essential workers are the backbone of our communities, yet too many are being priced out of safe, attainable housing near where they work. Rents have climbed faster than wages for years, creating an unsustainable gap that leaves millions of teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers stuck in the “missing middle.” They earn too much to qualify for subsidies yet not enough to afford market-rate housing. In this episode of Create the Village, guest host Eric Pinckney sits down with Sameer Bhargava to ...

Essential workers are the backbone of our communities, yet too many are being priced out of safe, attainable housing near where they work.

Rents have climbed faster than wages for years, creating an unsustainable gap that leaves millions of teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers stuck in the “missing middle.” They earn too much to qualify for subsidies yet not enough to afford market-rate housing. In this episode of Create the Village, guest host Eric Pinckney sits down with Sameer Bhargava to explore how innovative financing can help bridge this divide, strengthen communities, and ensure the people who sustain our cities can continue to call them home.

What you’ll hear:

Why rents are rising faster than wages and what that means for working families
How the “missing middle” is reshaping conversations about housing policy
The role of innovative finance in creating attainable housing solutions
Why attainable housing is critical to attracting and retaining essential workers

About the Guest
Sameer Bhargava is an accomplished executive with deep experience in real estate, capital markets, and corporate strategy. He has held senior leadership roles guiding innovation, risk management, and development enterprises, and previously worked in investment and advisory roles at The Carlyle Group, Bain Capital, Advent International, and McKinsey & Company. Sameer holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He serves on the board of StubHub, is chair of the board of The Potomac School, and is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

SUBSCRIBE: Create the Village is a podcast with bold conversations about innovation, leadership, and community development in real estate. Visit our official website to listen: https://integral-online.com/create-the-village-podcast/ and subscribe with your favorite podcast app.

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