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By Kerry Smith<\/div><\/div>\n

Calling the current housing shortage \u201cdire, with a chronic shortage of affordable\u201d homes, NAR suggests steps to take but warns it requires a \u201cmajor national commitment.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

WASHINGTON \u2013 In a just-released report, the National Association of Realtors\u00ae (NAR) takes a bleak look at America\u2019s housing market that\u2019s \u201cmore dire than previously expected.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A report issued by NAR and written by the Rosen Consulting Group, Housing is Critical Infrastructure: Social and Economic Benefits of Building More Housing<\/a>, finds that decades of underinvestment and underbuilding have created a shortage of housing that will require a concerted, long-term nationwide commitment to overcome.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NAR outlines the causes of the current problem and offers potential solutions for both federal and local-level policymakers to consider, but it says the next steps won\u2019t be easy. Immediate action must be taken across all levels of government, no matter the approach.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of America\u2019s housing stock\u2026 is dire, with a chronic shortage of affordable and available homes [needed to support] the nation\u2019s population,\u201d the report states. \u201cA severe lack of new construction and prolonged underinvestment [have led] to an acute shortage of available housing \u2026 to the detriment of the health of the public and the economy. The scale of underbuilding and the existing demand-supply gap is enormous \u2026 and will require a major national commitment to build more housing of all types.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

America\u2019s housing inventory isn\u2019t growing fast enough, and it\u2019s slowed significantly since the turn of the century, particularly over the past decade. It affects every region of the country, creating what the NAR report calls an \u201cunderbuilding gap\u201d of 5.5 to 6.8 million housing units since 2001.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a strong desire for homeownership across this country, but the lack of supply is preventing too many Americans from achieving that dream,\u201d says Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cIt\u2019s clear from the findings of this report and from the conditions we\u2019ve observed in the market over the past few years, that we\u2019ll need to do something dramatic to close this gap.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Among other specific policy recommendations, the report\u2019s authors argue that lawmakers must work to expand access to resources, remove barriers to and incentivize new development, and make housing construction an integral part of a national infrastructure strategy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA number of factors from the past 20 years are responsible for the massive housing investment gap we see in America today, but what\u2019s important now is that we find solutions that will get us out of this crisis and provide more stability in future markets,\u201d says NAR President Charlie Oppler.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oppler says a new focus on housing won\u2019t just help Americans find a place to live. If governments step up this decade, it could add an estimated 2.8 million American jobs and $50 billion in new, nationwide tax revenue.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdditional public funding and policy incentives for construction will very clearly provide huge benefits to our nation\u2019s economy, and our work to close this gap will be particularly impactful for lower-income households, households of color and millennials,\u201d Oppler says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The latest study follows an earlier NAR report, State and Local Policy Strategies to Advance Housing Affordability<\/a>, that recommends lawmakers pursue solutions through financial policy measures, policies aimed at increasing the supply of housing and zoning, and permitting policy reform.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2021 Florida Realtors\u00ae<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\nAuthor: kerrys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"