C i t i e s. C e n t r e. . U n i v e r s i t y. o f. T o r o n t o F i n a n c i n g. &. E c o n o m i c s. o f. A f f o r d a b le. [...] C i t i e s. C e n t r e. . U n i v e r s i t y. o f. T o r o n t o i v. F i n a n c i n g. &. E c o n o m i c s. o f. A f f o r d a b le. [...] H o u s i n g. D e v e l o p m e n t. 3 In addition to the work of the Neighbourhood Change CURA, numerous research papers have explored the factors contributing to the lack of affordable rental housing, and the lack of private- sector involvement in rental development.5 The audiences for this work are typically economists or policy analysts who understand the complex issues involved. [...] The purpose of this paper is to help a broader audience understand the issues by using simplified financial models to explain the economics of for-profit real estate development and financing and to demonstrate the mag- nitude of the gap between financial returns that for-profit players are prepared to accept and the potential financial returns from multi-unit rental development.6 The purpose of e [...] The affordable development project is being done using a “turnkey” approach, in which a for-profit developer takes a project to the end of construction and then turns it over to a non-profit organization that owns and operates the building.8 The data for the affordable base model was provided by an underwriter from Infrastructure Ontario, with the permission of the developer.