NMHNC/NAA Ad Criticizes U.S. Housing Policy’s Over-Emphasis on Homeownership
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–As lawmakers struggle to complete their work on a comprehensive housing stimulus bill, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) have released a new advertisement, urging lawmakers to learn from the country’s past mistakes and adopt a more balanced housing policy.“NMHC/NAA and others have been…
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–As lawmakers struggle to complete their work on a comprehensive housing stimulus bill, the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) have released a new advertisement, urging lawmakers to learn from the country’s past mistakes and adopt a more balanced housing policy.“NMHC/NAA and others have been warning as far back as 2004 that the nation would likely pay a high price for its ‘homeownership at any cost’ housing policy,” says NMHC/NAA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Jim Arbury. “The silver lining in the financial and housing crisis, which was both foreseeable and preventable, is that it will hopefully motivate lawmakers to rethink their outdated approach to housing policy. We will continue to make the case that America needs a more balanced housing policy that encourages a vibrant rental market along with a healthy ownership market.”The single-family housing crisis, though devastating, has had some positive aspects, Mary Jo George, an attorney in the real estate department at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, tells MHN. “The crisis has shifted the focus to multifamily housing. In recent years, too much effort has been applied to single-family homeownership. This crisis has caused a more balanced view of single-family and multifamily housing, making rental multi-housing more viable,” George says.The ad features quotes from journalists and housing policy experts essentially urging elected officials to “drop the obsession with homeownership.” NMHC/NAA are running the ad in publications targeting Congress.Some of the quotes include:“Owning a home isn’t right for everyone … And the unrelenting political fixation with homeownership as the U.S.’s top housing priority diverts attention from ways to get more affordable rental housing,” says David Wessel, Wall Street Journal.“Buying a home usually, though not always, means buying a single family house in the suburbs, often a long way out, where land is cheap. In an age of $4 gas and concerns about climate change, that’s an increasingly problematic choice,” says Paul Krugman, New York Times.