We’re done admiring the problem

Recently, I was listening to a fireside chat with Matthew Heckles, Delaware’s new director of housing.

While he was being interviewed about housing policies and the changes he hopes to bring to the First State, he said something that resonated with me – “We’re done admiring the problem.”

If you’re not paying attention, or even if you’re tired of hearing about it, our country is in the middle of one of the worst housing crises we’ve ever seen, and it’s getting worse by the day. Housing costs are growing significantly and are outpacing wages, making it difficult for millions of people to comfortably afford a home. Adding to this is a severe shortage of housing: Estimates vary, but our country is about 3 million housing units short of meeting demand, and we are building housing at the same rate we did nearly 30 years ago!

Builders can’t keep up, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t take meaningful action now.

The Affordable Housing Production Task Force was a good start. The group was a diverse representation of stakeholders, including state and local officials, state agencies, housing-focused organizations, home builders, community members and many others. The final report gave nine very clear and achievable recommendations for state and local governments to increase the production of affordable rental units and homes in Delaware. I encourage you to read the recommendations if you haven’t yet. They can be found on the Delaware State Housing Authority’s website.

But these recommendations don’t do any good sitting on a shelf and collecting dust. To serve the people of Delaware, our state and local governments need to take swift action to implement these measures to increase housing supply generally, and affordable housing supply in particular. This crisis is enduring and it is a daunting task, but it is a solvable problem so long as local elected officials are willing to step up, to be imaginative and to have the courage to make these changes in the face of opposition.

This crisis did not occur naturally. Years of policies and regulations have contributed to rising land and construction costs, to the creation of restrictive zoning and to inefficient investments in affordable housing and necessary infrastructure. There is a clear choice. We can continue to resist changes to appease a loud minority that screams, “Not in my backyard!” or we can take action and implement changes that will move Delaware forward and bring back the American dream of homeownership.

We’ve admired the problem, and now it’s time to get to work.