Affordable housing may be the most important issue facing the commercial real estate industry today. Statistics show a shortage of more than seven million homes in the US alone.

https://www.afire.org/podcast/202404cast/

More than half a million people are experiencing homelessness, and high interest rates and a growing population are making housing more expensive for more people.

So—how do we solve the problem?

What options are available to those of us who are investors, developers, builders, owners, and operators?

To get some answers on the current housing situation—and future-focused solutions—AFIRE CEO and podcast host Gunnar Branson recently sat down with Paul Bernard, president and CEO of Affordable Homes & Communities, a nonprofit developer with a focus on housing creation in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Bernard argues that the housing crisis is partly caused by barriers to new construction, leading to high homelessness rates, high housing costs and insufficient supply.

Affordable housing is not a commodity, Bernard says. Instead, it’s an asset class where developers and investors can follow concrete steps to alleviate housing availability issues and still find returns. According to Bernard, building more affordable developments requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, starting with a new narrative that will change public opinion of affordable housing, tax credits and renewed, innovative, problem-solving partnerships with nonprofits, for-profits and the public sector.