Two out of three Americans are concerned about the cost of housing in their communities, and 67 percent would be more likely to vote for a candidate who works to make housing more affordable, according to the National Housing Opportunity Pulse, a new national survey released today at the National Summit on Housing Opportunities convened by the National Association of Realtors®.

"Our survey found that people worry about affordable housing just as much as they worry about affordable health insurance, and only slightly less than jobs and unemployment," said NAR President Cathy Whatley, owner of Buck & Buck Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla.

"These findings reaffirm what Realtors® have known all along. Armed with these findings, our Summit partners concluded that it's time to put affordable housing on the public agenda."

The survey found that 71 percent would like to see government place a higher priority on making housing more affordable for renters and homeowners alike. Local, state and federal governments received a grade of "C" from their constituents for their work on affordable housing.

By a wide margin, Americans support the construction of more affordable housing, both rental and ownership, in their communities if the housing fits in with the area. Sixty-two percent of Americans are concerned about the impact the rising cost of housing has on teachers, firemen, police and others on whom communities depend and 81 percent support the construction of affordable homes for these public employees.

Most Americans also worry that their children and grandchildren will not be able to afford to live close to them (51 percent) and that the cost of a home is getting so unaffordable that it is hurting their local economy (56 percent).

The National Housing Opportunity Pulse survey of 1,000 urban and suburban residents in the top 25 media markets was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies August 13 through 17.

Regional survey data is available upon request for the Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, DC/Baltimore, Houston/Galveston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco areas.

HUD Secretary Mel Martinez opened the National Summit on Housing Opportunities this morning and addressed housing issues to policy makers who gathered for a roundtable discussion on housing opportunities moderated by Ray Suarez, senior correspondent of the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Following the keynote address, participants discussed how to create a consensus on elevating the need for more affordable housing opportunities on the nation's agenda. The summit, a project of NAR's Housing Opportunity Program, is part of the association's commitment to President Bush's Homeownership Initiative.

Participating in the morning discussion were Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.); Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.); Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.); Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio); Catherine B. Whatley, president, NAR; Daniel Mudd, vice chairman and chief operating officer, Fannie Mae; Thomas Jones, executive director, Habitat for Humanity; Brent A. Wilkes, executive director, League of United Latin American Citizens; Luis A. Cortes Jr., president, Nueva Esperanza Inc.; Nic Retsinas, director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies; Marc Morial, president, National Urban League; Mayor Michael A. Guido of Dearborn, Mich., from the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Charles L. Thiemann, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati; Alfred DelliBovi, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York; Ellen Lazar, executive director, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.; Ron Branch, president, National Association of Real Estate Brokers; Robert Strickland, president, National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies; Kurt Creager, president, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; Chris Hansen, associate executive director, American Association of Retired Persons; Jackson Cosey, senior vice president of emerging markets, Wells Fargo; Mayor Laura Miller of Dallas; and Angelo D. Kyle, vice president, National Association of Counties.

Published: October 1, 2003

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