Center for Housing Policy

The Center for Housing Policy, is the nonprofit research affiliate of the National Housing Conference (NHC). works to broaden understanding of the nation’s housing challenges and to examine the impact of policies and programs developed to address these needs. Combining research and practical, real-world expertise, the Center helps to develop effective policy solutions at the national, state and local levels that increase the availability of affordable homes. [ [http://www.nhc.org/housing/chp-index/ Center for Housing Policy: Research & Reports on Affordable Living ] ]

Jeffrey Lubell is the executive director of the Center. John McIlwain, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute and ULI/J. Ronald Terwilliger chair for housing, is chairman of the Center.

Conrad Egan is president and CEO of NHC. Helen Kanovsky, chief operating officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, is chair of NHC.

History

The Center for Housing Policy began operations in 1992. Starting in the late 1990s, the Center’s research has focused on the housing challenges of working families through a series of studies.

New Research

The Center recently released a series of projects to advance its three stated core objectives, including:

1. Expanding Awareness of the Nation’s Housing Challenges: "Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America". In January 2007, the Center released its annual update of this unique database which compares the cost of owning and renting a home with the wages for more than 60 occupations in over 200 metropolitan areas. The 2007 update focused in particular on the needs of health care workers who are often priced out of housing in the communities in which they serve. [ Evans, Blanche. Realty Times. "Interactive Database Shows Housing Affordability Worsens." 31 Jan 2007 ]

"The Housing Landscape and America’s Working Families 2007" was the fifth in an ongoing series of Center publications documenting the housing problems of working families. In addition to updating national trends in the number of working families with critical housing needs – that is, paying more than half of their income for housing and/or living in severely inadequate conditions – this edition featured a close-up look at trends in critical housing needs in 31 key metropolitan areas. [ Knox, Noelle. "Turmoil in Mortgage Market Hits Renters in the Wallet." USA Today 30 Aug 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-08-30-renters-crunch_n.htm ]

2. Strengthening Housing Policies for Working Families:

"Increasing the Availability of Affordable Homes: A Handbook of High-Impact State and Local Solutions". This Handbook, released in partnership with Homes for Working Families, documents a range of promising state and local housing policies that can expand housing opportunities for working families. The Handbook identifies six broad strategies that state and local governments can adopt to preserve and increase the supply of homes affordable to working families, along with 22 specific policies to help implement these strategies. [ Homes for Working Families http://www.homesforworkingfamilies.org/media/policyhandbook/ ]

"Shared Equity, Powerful Results: Helping One Generation of Homeowners After Another" provides a series of tools to help communities to learn more about shared equity strategies. Under this unique approach to affordable homeownership, a state or local government provides funding to help a family purchase a home. In return for this investment, the government entity shares in the benefits of any home price appreciation that may occur. When done well, shared equity helps individuals build financial assets, while preserving the value of public subsidy to ensure ongoing affordability. [ [http://www.communityinvestmentnetwork.org/single-news-item-states/article/shared-equity-powerful-results-helping-one-generation-of-homeowners-after-another/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1350&cHash=3d5a973ed3 Shared Equity, Powerful Results: Helping One Generation of Homeowners After Another ] ]

3. Documenting and Strengthening the Connections Between Affordable Housing and Key Social Objectives:

"Vital Links: Housing’s Contributions to the Nation’s Health and Education Objectives" is a set of in-depth resources from the Center and Enterprise Community Partners that collects and analyzes available research evidence that frames the many ways in which our homes, and the neighborhoods where we live, may affect the health and educational achievements of children and families.

Other Projects

[http://wwww.HousingPolicy.org HousingPolicy.org] is an online guide to housing policy for state and local leaders. HousingPolicy.org provides a wide array of information on state and local housing solutions to assist working families.

References