Tag: commentary
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Commentary: Homeownership Month Is a Reminder of What’s at Stake
At Housing Affordability Institute, Homeownership Month is reminder of our mission to provide policy solutions to advance homeownership.
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Commentary: The Case for Smarter Building Codes
What goes where will always take precedence, but after the primary barriers to housing are addressed, how we build becomes more important.
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Commentary: New Homes are the Solution; Why Do We Treat Them as the Problem?
There is a difference between finding an answer and finding the solution; this difference often lies in properly framing the question.
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Commentary: Declining Permits, Rates, and the Need for Evergreen Affordability
While the “rate shock” period is not yet over, one thing is clear: We need housing policies to foster an environment where affordability is an evergreen value.
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Commentary: Housing Reform in an Age of Closed Minds
Housing reform may be one of the last vestiges of bipartisanship in America, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune from partisanship and entrenchement in a broader, nontraditional sense.
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Commentary: Prices rise; homeownership declines. Now what?
Back in 2018, Minnesota was facing a 50,000-unit housing shortage, a deficit already fueling rising prices and limiting options for first-time buyers. The State of Minnesota’s Task Force on Housing set the audacious goal of closing the deficit within five years. Getting there would not be easy and would require a restructuring of Minnesota’s housing…
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Commentary: Sheetz and Impact Fees, One Year Later
One year later, the Sheetz v. El Dorado ruling is a game changer for housing affordability, the true impact of which has yet to be tested.
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Commentary: No, Making Homes More Expensive Does Not Make Them More Affordable
There are many myths about housing, many of which rest with those who doubt that reforms will increase affordability and access.
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Commentary: Moving on From a Century of Exclusion
Policymakers have long discussed the what, who, and why of zoning and exclusion, but the how hasn’t received the attention or criticism it deserves.
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On Paper vs. In Practice: The Problem With Discretionary Reviews
Housing type, location, and placement tend to dominate the zoning reform discussion in the public’s mind. Topics such as allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in existing neighborhoods, townhomes within single-family home neighborhoods, and residential development within commercial zones are seemingly at the forefront of the housing policy discussion. This may be where the public focuses…
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Commentary: Big Problems Require Bold, Ambitious Action – Housing Is No Different
Massive problems, like the housing inventory, affordability, and access issues seen in a growing number of states, require bold and ambitious action.