A Full-Court Press on Housing Affordability
This post was updated on Oct. 6, 2022.
NAHB continues to work tirelessly to enact solutions to the growing housing affordability crisis and to keep housing front and center among policymakers and the media. On Sept. 21, NAHB CEO Jerry Howard participated in a White House meeting on housing where he urged the administration to focus on helping to ease building material supply chain shortages and to eliminate unnecessary regulations that are resulting in housing construction delays and higher home building costs.
NAHB First Vice Chairman Alicia Huey touched on similar themes when she spoke at a New Democratic Coalition Housing Roundtable on Sept. 15, including urging lawmakers to ensure that vocational training opportunities stand on the same footing as a four-year college path.
And on July 20, NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter testified before Congress and urged lawmakers to act on the housing crisis.
With NAHB’s strong backing, Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called on the Biden administration to act on lumber tariffs and Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) spoke on the House floor regarding the urgent need to resolve America’s housing affordability challenges and to call on the administration to prioritize lumber and building material prices.
Meanwhile, Konter followed up his congressional testimony with an opinion piece in MarketWatch outlining solutions that are needed to enable builders to construct much-needed entry-level housing. The title of the opinion piece told the story: “I’ve been building homes for 40 years, and here’s what has to change if the U.S. wants more starter homes: Tackle lumber prices, alter tax breaks and cut regulation.”