REALTOR® Associations can play an important role in addressing workforce housing issues in their community by holding a forum that brings key players in the community together to examine how the lack of affordable housing opportunities is affecting the community and exploring strategies to address these issues. The Workforce Housing Forum Guide: A Strategy for Outreach and Advocacy outlines how to plan and conduct a workforce housing forum to identify and develop strategies to address a community’s workforce housing needs. The guide includes tips and tools for setting goals,and resources to identify partners, select speakers, manage resources and more, along with examples...
REALTORS® Promote Affordable Housing for the Los Angeles Workforce
Summary:
The lack of affordable housing for Los Angeles County workers is driving businesses out of state. The Southland Regional Association of REALTORS® is responding to the crisis with REALTOR® Party-funded programs like its recent “Housing Our Workers Forum,” which brought together local stakeholders and officials to discuss solutions.
White Mountain Board (NH) Begins Quest for Affordable Workforce Housing
Leaders of the 125-member White Mountain Board of REALTORS® (WMBR) knew from the moment they learned about NAR’s Housing Opportunity Grants that they could put one to good use in their rural region where many jobs do not pay enough to cover housing within a reasonable commuting range. The WMBR used a $5,000 grant from NAR to host the Mount Washington Valley Workforce Housing Design Charette. The intensive design program brought together teams of planners and housing development professionals to rough out development concepts reusing and/or revitalizing existing structures, as well as developing raw acreage. Particular attention was given to...
Wisconsin REALTORS® Association Leverages Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant to Communicate Statewide Need for Workforce Housing
The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association had a compelling report on the need for affordable workforce housing; a new collaborative grant from the REALTOR® Party is helping to get the information out at the local level, where the zoning and budget decisions are made.
Missoula REALTORS® Work with Mayor to Promote Workforce Housing
Land is at a premium in Missoula, Montana, which is situated in a picturesque valley at the convergence of five mountain ranges. This stunning topography imposes natural limits on development options for housing – or anything else. It also means that workers who cannot afford to live in the city must literally cross mountains to get between work and home. Mayor John Engen had made affordable housing a priority and the Missoula Organization of REALTORS® stepped up to plate to help. MOR co-sponsored a housing summit and put on an Employer-Assisted Housing Class using NAR’s My REALTOR® Party resources.
Michigan REALTORS® Create “Sense of Place” in Workforce Housing
When the Michigan Association of REALTORS® (MAR) received an Ira Gribin grant from NAR a few years back, it funded a statewide initiative to study the benefits of placemaking in workforce housing. “As REALTORS®, we have been all about land use planning for a long time, but now we clearly need to focus on placemaking, specifically, as the real key to reversing the fortunes of the housing market here in Michigan.” says 2012 MAR President Beth Foley. Placemaking is a progressive movement that creates improved and distinctive public spaces by involving community input. In February 2012, when Governor Rick Snyder...
Houston REALTORS® Host Forum to Help Voters Get to Know Mayoral Candidates
Houston is looking for a new mayor, and there are seven major candidates vying for the job. Supported by a grant from NAR, the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) held a forum to help members and the voting public sort them out. In addition to its own membership, HAR opened the guest list to like-minded business groups, and about half of the Houston City Council was in attendance, as well.
Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® Supports Housing Study that Leads to a Housing Trust Fund for Crow Wing County, Minnesota
With a Housing Opportunity Grant and a lot of local expertise, the Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS® has helped achieve a permanent and sustainable trust fund to support the growth of affordable and workplace housing in Crow Wing County. Aspiring homeowners, renters, developers, and employers – in fact, the whole community – stand to gain from the new source of funding for loans and grants.
Santa Fe REALTORS® Promote Diverse Housing Options in Housing-strapped Region
As a key member of the broad-based Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition, the Santa Fe Association of REALTORS® secured a Housing Opportunity Grant to help fund a video project to show the public why the region needs housing options and soon.