WASHINGTON, DC – As our population changes and more Americans choose to rent their homes, there is a growing disconnect between our national housing policy and our changing housing needs. A visually powerful PowerPoint presentation from the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) aims to close that gap.
“The coming boom in construction gives us a golden opportunity to get from where we are to where we need to be: creating thriving, healthy and sustainable communities,” said NMHC President Doug Bibby. “We call this presentation A New Housing Policy: Imagine the Possibilities because we have a tremendous opportunity to create thriving and sustainable communities—but only if we change our thinking about rental housing and renters."
NMHC’s updated A New Housing Policy: Imagine the Possibilities makes four key points:
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America needs rental housing
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Renters—whether affordable renters or lifestyle renters—are not second-class citizens
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There is a growing disconnect between America's housing needs and its current housing policy
“The U.S. is on the cusp of fundamental change in our housing dynamics as changing demographics and changing housing preferences drive more people away from the typical suburban house and toward the type of housing that rental housing offers,” added Bibby. “Families with children made up more than half of households decades ago, but they made up only one-third of households in 2000, and by 2025, they will be closer to one-fifth.”
“In their place are growing numbers of households who are more likely to choose renting—single parents, couples without children and empty nesters. By 2025, singles and unrelated individuals living together will comprise forty percent of households.”
Bibby presented Imagine the Possibilities to attendees from more than 220 companies as the keynote address at the National Apartment Summit in Tyson’s Corner, VA on September 20.
A New Housing Policy: Imagine the Possibilities is available at no charge at www.nmhc.org/goto/imagine. Advocates for apartment communities are invited to share it with interested groups including their local policymakers.
Based in Washington, DC, NMHC is a national association representing the interests of the larger and most prominent apartment firms in the U.S. NMHC's members are the principal officers of firms engaged in all aspects of the apartment industry, including owners, developers, managers and financiers. One-third of Americans rent their housing, and over 14 percent live in a rental apartment.