Becoming an agent of change for affordable housing
Over the past couple of years, people have adapted to working from home; but what if you don’t have an affordable place to live? How can your home be expected to do double duty as a safe haven for you and your family as well as your workplace? This expectation of double duty has put additional pressure on those seeking suitable affordable housing solutions.
At this writing, Freddie Mac reports that almost 60% of renters experienced rent increases over the past twelve months. Couple that with rising interest rates and inflation, and consumers are feeling the squeeze more than ever. The media is quick to report the affordability problems because problems make good clickbait but talking about problems rarely solves them. Talking about solutions, or better yet, being the solution is key.
As real estate professionals, we have a unique role in addressing the housing affordability crisis and I believe there are four key areas where we can focus
process for the long haul. We owe it to our clients to learn all we can about down payment assistance programs, non-profit organizations committed to helping people buy or rent, as well as credit repair and alternative community and housing solutions.
Corwyn Melette,
Broker/Ownerof EXIT Realty
Lowcountry Group in Charleston, South Carolina, saw a segment of the population in his area underserved when tobacco tanked and military bases closed, and he made it his mission to serve them.
“You don’t make a lot of money in affordable housing, but you make an impact. To do this, you have to have a servant’s heart. It requires a lot of work,” he says. “As real estate professionals, we’re used to getting things done right now. Affordable housing takes much longer, and it requires a commitment to serve, and you must keep the buyer encouraged. You’re not doing it for the money or the transaction, but for the people you will impact, not just now, but also down the road. If you’re not doing it for the right reason, you will find yourself challenged at every turn.”
our time and expertise: service, volunteerism, education, and advocacy.
It’s one thing to serve clients who are well-funded and quite another to serve clients with a low income and little-to-no down payment. The latter requires rolling up our sleeves and committing to the
Being the solution sometimes means committing time. There are many non-profit organizations focused on helping people buy or rent, and as community leaders, we can make an impact by finding one that speaks to our heart and getting involved. National Association of REALTORS® Good Neighbor award winner, Brent Gieseke, volunteers with the non-profit organization, Agape Pamoja, to acquire and refurbish houses for refugees fleeing war-torn countries at a reduced rent. Julie Jenkins, REALTORS Care® award nominee, is a passion-
Freddie Mac reports that almost 60% of renters experienced rent increases over the past twelve months.
ate fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and has participated in several construction projects for the non-profit, including a home build for Habitat client and single mother, Anne.
“Anne was living in a rented basement apartment with her three small children,” says Julie. “It leaked and she couldn’t keep anything on the floors. It wasn’t a good situation at all.” Julie’s aha moment came while she was cutting drywall for a window with Anne in what was to become Anne’s bedroom. “We were joking about how she would think of me every time she looked out the window and I suddenly realized that for Anne, this wasn’t about building her network in the community. Unlike me, she wasn’t doing it for the recognition. This was going to be her home. Because of our group’s efforts, she had a warm, dry, safe place to raise her family. It was an absolutely life changing moment for me when I realized I was actually doing something to help.”
According to the State of the Nation’s Housing 2022 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, “For lower-income households and households of color, the pressure of high housing costs is unlikely to relent.” And that’s where education comes in. Hand-in-hand with serving the community comes the need to educate them on available
is a HUD-approved organization whose mandate includes home buyer counseling and foreclosure prevention. “We want clients to have a home they can live in without being house rich and cash poor. Education helps prevent that,” she says.
The solutions to make housing more affordable are varied and complex and it takes some out-ofthe-box thinking by both the private and public sector to influence change. One of the companies stepping up to help is tech giant, Apple which developed Veteran’s Square, a 30-unit building for those in need of affordable housing. This project is the latest in Apple’s $2.5 billion commitment to help address affordable housing needs across California.
As the Co-Chair of EXIT Realty Corp. International and a 40-plus-year industry veteran, I wrote a whitepaper focusing on the REALTOR’S® role in helping to address the challenges of housing affordability. In it, we take a closer look at the ways Corwyn, Julie and Laya are impacting their communities and they share specific suggestions and resources. The whitepaper can be downloaded at exitrealty.com/whitepapers.
I urge you to take part in the conversations about affordable housing at your REALTOR® association or town council and share what you learn at your next office meeting. Who knows, one idea might spark another, and you could become an agent of change.
options. Many people don’t know what they don’t know. You don’t have to be an expert, but you can be a conduit for the experts to reach the public.
Laya Gavin, Broker/Owner of EXIT Realty Sun City in Sun City, Arizona, is the 2021-2023 President of the Phoenix Realtist Professional Group (local Board President for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, NAREB). NAREB was founded in 1947 at a time when the National Association of REALTORS® didn’t permit people of color to become members. One of the ways Laya is leveraging her position with NAREB is by hosting public home ownership forums to bring the experts to her community. She approached the bishop of her church to use their facilities and joining her on the dais were a mortgage underwriter and an NID (NAREB Investment Division) Housing Counselor. NID
Tami Bonnell Co-Chair of EXIT Realty Corp. International
“ Because of our group’s efforts, she had a warm, dry, safe place to raise her family.”
