HUD Secretary to NAHB Members: “We are All on the Same Team”

“We are all on the same team. We need you now more than ever.”

That is the message that U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge delivered to NAHB members during a special address today at the NAHB Leadership Meeting in the nation’s capital.

“Without you, I cannot do my work,” said Fudge. “Housing is infrastructure. Housing is health care. We cannot solve our nation’s issues if we do not ensure people have access to affordable housing.”

Stating that there is an estimated shortage of 3.8 million homes, Fudge said that the entire government has to have a stake in addressing the housing affordability crisis and cited several areas where the Biden administration is taking a proactive stance:

• An $85 million grant program aimed at zoning reform
• A $75 million grant to help end youth homelessness
• Gap funding programs to help with homeownership and rental assistance

In addition, through the Inflation Reduction Act, HUD has provided more than $800 million to the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy and water efficiency and climate resilience of HUD-assisted multifamily properties serving low-income residents.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure people value the housing they have,” said the HUD secretary. “We can’t afford to lose one unit of housing in this country.”

Fudge further urged builders to construct more starter homes, adding that HUD will do its part to help by providing more money to state housing finance agencies, making it easier for buyers to borrow from the Federal Housing Administration and working to make renters more credit ready.

“We need to promote homeownership,” said Fudge. “The most valuable thing people own is their home.”

Again citing the 3.8 million housing shortfall in America, Fudge said that home builders are vital to close this gap. “We will not get there without you, and we need your partnership,” she said. “If we don’t do it now, I don’t know when we’ll ever get it done.”