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Comment

Director Thompson,

The housing crises is due to a shortage of housing for all Americans. A basic law of economics is supply and demand. If the supply of housing meets the demand, then housing would have been more affordable resulting in less inflation and therefore more affordable rents. Thus, the rents have increased dramatically due to the failure of government agencies both federal and local to encourage builders to build affordable housing. Federal policies such as rising mortgage interest rates, will discourage more builders, buyers, and sellers to market homes. Most Americans will disagree that by rising the interest rates the inflation will be under control as its not seen in their daily life at the grocery store or the gasoline station or anywhere else. Retirees have especially been hit hard seeing in addition to inflation, the loss of their lives' investments as the economy cools.
I have sold many homes in the past 30 plus years as a realtor and have rented homes, too. I don't believe the federal government should be involved in the actual dictation of rules for Multi-Family housing as such rules negatively impact the investor who is taking the risks. Such risks usually involve more costs, and therefore would cause even higher rents. This is best left to local governments and the local governments historically have failed in their efforts by passing laws that impact the landlord tenant relationship. Thus, you will find the highest rents in cities with the highest demand and the highest costs to landlords to supply the properties for the rental market.
By the way, there are many communities that have suffered due to government policies. Traveling across the USA from California to Florida, I found plenty of housing, but alas, no jobs, so these homes were empty and the downtown areas where blighted. What happened to us? Where are the thousands going to find employment and housing that are crossing the borders into our country? It appears that something is amiss with our own government?

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. Rick Dillion