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Director Thompson,

As a long-term property investor, landlord and real estate broker (Since the early 1990's) I am probably both more informed and more experienced than 99% of the public regarding the residential rental market in the US.

We already face a mountain of hurdles in the form of legal disclosures, rules, regulations, laws, permitting, code compliance, anti-discrimination and over taxation, to name a few, which make providing high quality and/or affordable housing difficult, if not impossible.

What we need is LESS legislation regulating our industry, not more. The vast majority of landlords are small owners, struggling to make a fair return on their investments, while providing a valuable and badly needed service to our society. We already face a severe housing shortage and rising rents. More legislation which increases landlords' costs further, will only be passed along to renters.

If you want to be a part of costing all your constituents more money to keep a roof over their heads, vote for more regulation. You will lose the support and votes of both renters and landlords, like me. Let's simplify our government, not complicate it further.

I would be happy to speak to you about this if you would like further expert anecdotal information.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your Request for Input (RFI) on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in its oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, can best provide affordable housing opportunities for renters. Approximately 40% of the National Association of REALTORS®'s (NAR) 1.5 million members own at least one rental housing unit, playing a vital role in providing safe, quality, and affordable housing in neighborhoods nationwide.

As the FHFA examines ways to improve access to affordable housing, it is critical to acknowledge the most significant driver of housing unaffordability is the limited supply of available housing. According to NAR data, the United States has an underproduction gap of over 5.5 million units – a key underlying reason housing costs have increased. On top of this, inflation has increased the prices of goods and services for all Americans. As housing providers strive to provide affordable housing opportunities in their communities, they also contend with rising mortgage rates and increased costs for supplies, services, and maintenance. When inflation is high, the prices of materials increase. That means it becomes exceedingly more expensive for construction teams to build new homes or renovate existing ones. Ultimately, these high costs spill into the housing market and lift home prices for new builds and existing housing.

As REALTORS®, we are committed to upholding the very specific provisions of our contracts with residents, and we often go above and beyond what is required to ensure residents have safe, quality, and affordable places to live. Rental housing is a deeply complex issue that is unique to every community. Creating additional layers of policies to a space that is already heavily regulated by state and local governments will have severe unintended consequences for renters as housing providers are leaving the market in communities where affordable housing is sorely needed.

Affordable housing is pivotal to creating paths to upward mobility for people across the country. I appreciate your commitment to ensuring we achieve this goal without impeding the creation of much-needed housing supply. Christopher Bluntzer