The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP®) Statement on White House Announcement to Increase Affordable Housing via the Housing Supply Action Plan

SAN DIEGO—May 16, 2022— The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP®) welcomes the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious plan for addressing our burgeoning housing supply shortage. The Housing Supply Action Plan sets a national strategy to close the housing supply gap in five years. Latinos are central to the long-term strength of the housing market. Record low housing supply remains the number one barrier to Latino homeownership growth. Housing represents over 16 percent of the U.S. GDP. A meaningful and targeted national effort to spur the production of new entry-level housing will be critical to ensuring future U.S. economic growth and will help temper the unsustainable rise in home prices.

NAHREP’s latest State of Hispanic Homeownership Report found there are 8.3 million Latinos aged 45 and under who are currently mortgage-ready but don’t own a home. At the same time, a NAHREP survey of real estate practitioners found that most homes are still receiving multiple offers, making it difficult for first-time homebuyers utilizing low down payment loan products to compete. Failure to act on today’s housing shortages could price an entire generation out of homeownership.

According to the White House statement, the Housing Supply Action Plan seeks to:

Reward jurisdictions that have reformed zoning and land-use policies with higher scores in certain federal grant processes, for the first time at scale.
Deploy new financing mechanisms to build and preserve more housing where financing gaps currently exist: manufactured housing (including chattel loans that the majority of manufactured housing purchasers rely on), accessory dwelling units (ADUs), 2-4 unit properties, and smaller multifamily buildings.
Expand and improve existing forms of federal financing, including affordable multifamily development and preservation. This includes making Construction to Permanent loans (where one loan finances the construction but is also a long-term mortgage) more widely available by exploring the feasibility of Fannie Mae to purchase these loans; promoting the use of state, local, and Tribal government COVID-19 recovery funds to expand affordable housing supply; and announcing reforms to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which provides credits to private investors developing affordable rental housing, and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), which provides grants to states and localities that communities use to fund a wide range of housing activities.
Ensure that more government-owned supply of homes and other housing goes to owners who will live in them – or non-profits who will rehab them – not large institutional investors.
Work with the private sector to address supply chain challenges and improve building techniques to finish construction in 2022 on the most new homes in any year since 2006.

“The Housing Supply Action Plan contains ambitious initiatives that can materially impact the housing inventory crisis in America if enacted. Increasing the housing supply will create a multiplier effect for the economy and positively impact inflationary pressures, especially for Latinos, who are projected to make up 70 percent of new homeowners over the next 20 years. The key will be in the ability to execute on the ambitious plan set forth by the administration. NAHREP and our members look forward to working closely with the administration to help make it a reality,” said Gary Acosta, NAHREP Co-Founder & CEO.

About NAHREP:
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP®), a nonprofit 501(c)6 trade association, is dedicated to advancing sustainable homeownership for the Hispanic community in America. NAHREP has a network of over 40,000 real estate professionals and 100 local chapters nationwide, hosting several national events per year and publishing multiple industry cornerstone reports annually and multimedia content. Join us in advocating for policies that grow sustainable Latino homeownership, read our 2022 policy priorities here. See the NAHREP Hispanic Homeownership by Congressional District Tool which measures Hispanic homeownership by U.S. congressional district, allowing constituents, advocates, policy makers, and lending and housing professionals to evaluate district performance at a glance. Watch the Hispanic Homeownership short film.

Press Contact:
NAHREP
press@nahrep.org
(619) 719-4814