RELEASE: “The mortgage crisis is having a devastating effect on the nation’s rental housing market, according to a new report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

 

“More people are competing for low-cost rental housing as a dramatic rise in foreclosures and sluggish home sales last year resulted in nearly one million more renter households – more than four times the rate of renter growth from 2003 to 2006.

“At the same time, many renters are threatened with sudden eviction because 20 percent of all foreclosures involve small, investor-owned rental properties for families.

“Adding to the affordability dilemma, the mortgage crisis has tightened lending, making it more difficult to secure financing for rental housing construction and preservation. 


“’This new report underscores that the demand for affordable rental housing is increasing at the same time that the supply of low-cost rental homes is declining,’ said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton.

“’The debate on national housing policy must not exclude the more than 35 million renter households. We clearly need policies that honor the role of rental housing as well as homeownership. Within that context, preservation and improvement of existing affordable rental homes is an essential element.’…

“Access to homeownership has been the centerpiece of government housing programs for the past decade. The report finds such policies have unintentionally contributed to soaring foreclosure rates by extending homeownership opportunities to higher-risk households with limited incomes and wealth.

“The fallout from the mortgage crisis is particularly acute in low-income minority communities.

“While acknowledging the importance of efforts to assist homeowners facing foreclosure, the report proposes the development of new policy initiatives that better balance housing opportunities for renters and homeowners.”

 ANOTHER VIEW:  The Guardian has published an analysis of the housing crisis by John Bartlett of Metropolitan Tenants Organization and Steven Hill of New America Foundation.