Transcript Document

A New Housing Policy:
Imagine the Possibilities
Rental Housing
Not Housing of Last Resort
» 24 million households—more than 20
percent—call an apartment their
home.
» Their numbers are growing.
» In 2006, Harvard’s Joint Center for
Housing Studies predicted an increase
of 1.8 million renters by 2015. Instead,
we saw a surge of 1.5 million renters
from 2005 to 2007 alone.
The Homeownership Bias
»
In 2006, the federal government spent
approximately $216 billion on housing
programs and tax expenditures.
» 73 percent went to homeownership; just
27 percent went toward rental housing.
»
We spend more on the deductions for
mortgage interest and property tax than
the combined federal spending on
education, roads, mass transit and
national parks.
Housing Policy Disconnect
» America WANTS rental housing.
» America NEEDS rental housing.
» Renters are not Second-Class Citizens
» Tremendous opportunity to undo
mistakes of the past.
Growth = Choices and
Opportunity
» The U.S. population is expected
to increase 33% by 2030 to 376
million.
» That’s 94 million more people
than there were in 2000.
» To accommodate that growth,
we need 60 million new housing
units.
America Wants Rental Housing
Future Housing Demand
» 78 million Echo Boomers getting
ready to enter the housing market,
almost universally as renters.
– By 2015, there will be 67 million people aged 20-34, in
other words, people in their prime renter years.
» 10 million immigrants who will come
to this country in the next 10 years.
Build for New Choices
» For 50 years, families with children drove
America’s housing industry.
» But married couples with children are
projected to decline to just 1 in 4 households
by 2025.
» By 2020, singles and unrelated individuals
living together will comprise one out of every
three households.
Profound Housing Policy
Disconnect
»
Half of all new homes built between now and 2020
will have to be rental units.
» The U.S. will have a likely surplus of 22 million
large-lot homes—that’s houses built on a sixth of
an acre or more—by 2025.
»
That's roughly 40 percent of the large-lot houses in
existence today. Our housing policy has to be
amended to reflect our changing preferences.
America Needs Rental Housing
Environmental Factors
» If we can shift 60 percent of new
growth to compact, walkable
neighborhoods—the kinds where
apartments are found—we would save
85 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide annually by 2030.
» Compact Development:
– Preserves green space
– Reduces damage to streams, lakes and rivers
by reducing the amount of paved surfaces
– Reduces air pollution by reducing the need to
drive
Infrastructure
» Sprawl is expensive!
Make the Most of
What We Have
» Compact development reduces
infrastructure costs and saves money.
» Nationally, the U.S. can save over $100
billion in infrastructure costs over 25
years by growing compactly.
» Chicago can save $3.7 billion over 20
years by growing compactly.
The Affordable Housing
Shortage
» 35 million households spend 30 percent
or more of their annual income on
housing.
» 114 million people live in households
that did not earn enough ($37,105) to
reasonably afford a two-bedroom
apartment.
New Housing Policy Paradigm
Change the Dialogue
Renters are Not Second-Class Citizens
» End the myths that apartments cause
crime rates to spike and property
values to plummet.
» Owners benefit from having rental
housing in their communities.
Change the Dialogue
Housing is Shelter, Not an Investment
» It costs $311 less a month, on average,
to rent than to own.
» A $100 investment in housing in 1985
would be worth $270 today, while that
same $100 placed in stocks would be
worth $722—nearly two-and-a-half
times as much.
Change our Policy
Paradigm
No New Homeownership Incentives
» Current incentives overwhelmingly
benefit the wealthy and distort the
economy by encouraging people to
overinvest in housing.
» Large numbers of renters will not undo
our society.
– Switzerland has a homeownership rate of 35
percent.
– Germany has a homeownership rate of 42
percent.
Change the Regulatory
Climate
» Zoning and land-use regulations that
favor sprawling, car-dependent
development.
» Federal, state and local policies should
encourage the development of
compact, sustainable housing located
near transportation and employment
centers.
Change the Economic
Climate
» Bridge the gap between construction costs
and affordable rents.
www.nmhc.org/goto/workforcehousing
Federal Incentives
» Fully fund and reform the Section
8 program.
» Fix the Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit program.
» Enact Exit Tax Relief
Imagine the Possibilities
Thank You
Douglas M. Bibby
President
National Multi Housing Council
Web Site: www.nmhc.org
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: 202/974-2300