Affordable Housing for All
The cost of housing continues to outpace income for most Americans, causing more difficult choices on spending for food and gas, risking high costs of living against job opportunities and more. Its time we start taking more action to ensure that the housing market serves all Americans, not just those at the top.
Solutions
Expand Public Housing Investments
Increase funding for affordable housing projects and public-private partnerships to curb homelessness.
Tax Incentives for First-Time Homebuyers
Offer federal tax credits to help first-time homebuyers afford property ownership.
Fixing Local Zoning Rules
At the local level, zoning regulations can determine the type of homes that can be built in the community. This is where the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) crowd can prevent new construction or only allow spacious single family homes instead of higher-density apartments or low-income housing developments.
This is why local elections matter for city and municipal governments and how you can make a difference in your own community. Learning about the existing regulations in place in where you live, you can begin to influence precisely what type of residential buildings are needed to address affordability.
Incentivizing Affordable Housing Development
In the current market, there is more profit in building luxury and high-scale homes than more affordable homes. As a result, the types of homes that are being built aren't addressing the problem of affordability.
In order to address this, government incentives are required to tip the scales back in favor of building affordable homes.
Problems to Solve
The Housing Shortage
Housing has long been a cornerstone of the American dream and a critical driver of the nation’s economic competitiveness. Yet today, the most urgent challenge facing the housing market is declining affordability, fueled by a persistent and widening gap between supply and demand. A severe shortage of over 4.7 million homes has created cascading economic and social challenges, from skyrocketing prices to reduced workforce mobility.
This deficit, rooted in a decade of underbuilding following the Great Recession and surging demand from millennials entering prime home-buying years, has driven up prices and worsened affordability. High mortgage rates and soaring rents have further exacerbated the crisis, which now impacts the broader economy by reducing consumer spending, increasing employee turnover, and hindering businesses' ability to attract and retain talent. Addressing this shortage is essential for stabilizing the market and supporting long-term economic resilience.
Organizations Fixing the Problem
Know of an organization that should be added? Send it to admin@newdealparty.org.
