American home builders have called upon Congress to take steps to address a tremendous shortage of affordable homes in the country through policy solutions. Real estate experts have long cited a perceived decline in new home building in the U.S. that began in the wake of the Great Recession last decade. Zillow recently said there
Advocates call for vacant commercial space to be converted into affordable housing
April 18, 2021 by
With those of commercial buildings sitting empty due to the coronavirus pandemic, some are looking to repurpose those spaces for affordable housing. The onset of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing has resulted in hundreds of hotels sitting empty, while offices remain vacant as people work from home instead. The sudden availability of all
Affordable Housing Crunch Continues Growing – Are Hotels a Partial Answer?
February 16, 2021 by
The affordable housing crunch doesn’t affect only first time homebuyers. It also affects renters and ultimately the entire economy. The affordability problem was bad in 2019 and became worse in 2020, substantially due to COVID-19. Harvard University’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2020 report (sponsored by Habitat for Humanity), defines “housing cost burdened” as spending
Hospitals do their bit to tackle homelessness in the U.S.
January 6, 2020 by
Hospitals are increasingly buying up real estate as part of an effort to help alleviate the homeless crisis that’s affecting many parts of the U.S. The problem for hospitals is that some patients, after receiving treatment, have nowhere to go once they’re discharged. Insurance companies generally refuse to pay for patients once they’re immediate problem
2019 NHP Foundation Symposium exceeds Sponsorship Goals
October 24, 2019 by
NHPF (The NHP Foundation), a national not-for-profit leader in providing quality affordable housing to low to middle income Americans in need, today announced that its 3rd Symposium event, ““Affordable Housing Investment: Impactful Returns Realized” held October 16th at Union Station in Washington, D.C. surpassed each of the previous two Symposia drawing 95 corporate sponsors and
Facebook pledges $1 billion to combat Bay Area housing crisis
October 23, 2019 by
Facebook is the latest big tech company to pledge money to address the shortage of affordable housing affecting the communities its workers live in. The company says it’s committing $1 billion towards a variety of initiatives meant to tackle the problem, following similar pledges by Google and Microsoft. The initiatives come at a time when
Seattle considers tax on Uber and Lyft to fund affordable housing
September 25, 2019 by
Lawmakers in Seattle are considering imposing a 51-cent tax on ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, which would be used to finance new affordable housing and transportation projects. The proposed new tax, which still needs to be approved by the City Council, would come into effect next July, the Seattle Times reported. Seattle Mayor
Big tech’s affordable housing commitments are ‘not enough’, experts say
August 11, 2019 by
With the cost of housing reaching sky-high levels in many West Coast cities, a number of technology companies have stepped in with pledges of millions of dollars to try and reverse the situation. Microsoft for example, in January announced it was committing $500 million to pay for affordable housing, while Google recently said it would
Oregon set to be first state to ban single-family zoning
July 4, 2019 by
Oregon is set to become the first U.S. state to alter its single-family zoning laws in order to encourage more homebuilding. Several cities have passed similar bills in recent months, but Oregon could be the first to introduce state-level legislation, NPR reported this week. Oregon’s House and Senate this week passed a bill that will
