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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/19/23
    First Name: Emerson
    Last Name: Bostrom
    Email: ebostrom@purepm.co
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: PURE Property Management

  • Comment

    The Honorable Sandra Thompson
    Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency
    451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410
    Dear Director Thompson,
    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 across the country. The Institute of Real Estate
    Management (IREM®) is an international community of real estate managers dedicated to ethical
    business practices, maximizing the value of investment real estate, and promoting superior
    management through education and information sharing. IREM members manage 60% of federally
    subsidized and public housing.
    As the FHFA examines ways to improve access to affordable housing, it is critical for FHFA to
    acknowledge the greatest driver of housing unaffordability is the limited supply of available
    housing. According to recent data, the United States has an underproduction gap of over 5.5
    million units – a key underlying factor to why the cost of housing has increased. On top of this,
    inflation has increased the costs for 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 costs of materials increase. That means it becomes especially more expensive for
    construction teams to build new homes or renovate existing homes. Ultimately, these high costs
    spill into the housing market and lift home prices for new builds and existing housing.
    As property management professional and member of IREM, I am committed to upholding the
    very specific provisions of our contracts with residents, and often go above and beyond what is
    required to ensure residents have safe, decent, 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 and will result in housing providers 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.
    Thank you for your commitment to ensuring we achieve this goal without impeding the supply of
    much-needed housing.
    Sincerely,
    Emerson Bostrom