At the recent

International Builders' Show in Atlanta, newly installed president of

the National Association of Home Builders Bruce Smith unveiled ambitious

goals for 2001.

According to

Smith, a new Administration in the White House, the new Congress and new

leadership at regulatory agencies combine to offer a unique opportunity

to "Seize the Day" for NAHB's top priority: providing safe,

decent, affordable housing for all Americans.

Smith promised

attendees that NAHB would pursue aggressive goals for a housing marketplace

that is becoming more complex and competitive, and increasingly threatened

The fact is

that America is facing a silent housing affordability crisis. Although

the nationwide homeownership rate stands at an impressive 67.5 percent,

and thousands of families across the economic spectrum have benefited

in recent years from expanded housing opportunities, favorable interest

rates and rising home values, millions have been left behind.

That may seem

hard to believe in these prosperous times, but consider these facts:

A staggering

5.3 million Americans pay more than half their incomes for housing or

live in substandard housing.

The homeownership

rate among young households is still below the peak that it reached in

1979.

The homeownership

rate for minorities is 20 percentage points below the national average

of 67.5.

While millions

of working families need affordable housing to buy or rent, the number

of low income rental units is declining by almost half a million per year.

In high growth,

major metropolitan areas, thousands of people commute 100 miles or more

because of the lack of affordable housing in the communities where they

work.

To close the

homeownership gap for minorities and young households, to meet the increasing

demand for affordable rental housing and to take advantage of this political

window of opportunity, Smith outlined five strategies that NAHB will pursue

in the year ahead.

First, NAHB

will strongly encourage the Bush administration, Congress and the Federal

Reserve to pursue an appropriate mix of fiscal and monetary policies to

keep the economy and housing market on track and keep long-term mortgage

interest rates at low levels.

Second, NAHB

will continue to promote Smart Growth strategies for single-family and

multifamily housing. This includes urging Congress to enact legislation

to reform federal liability laws so that thousands of brownfields, abandoned,

idled, or under-used urban sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated

housing.

Next, NAHB

will urge the newly elected Congress to remove regulatory barriers to

affordable housing, protect property rights, provide tax relief to small

businesses, offer tax incentives for affordable housing and follow a common-sense

approach on environmental legislation.

NAHB will also

begin a dialogue with federal regulatory agencies to reverse the trend

of over regulation, which increases the cost of housing.

Finally, NAHB

will continue to urge Congress to allow the secondary mortgage market

to function optimally and without undue intervention in order to maintain

the smooth operation of the nation's housing finance system, which is

the envy of the world.

The National

Association of Home Builders has been the voice of America's housing industry

since its founding in 1942, promoting policies that keep housing a national

priority.

Under the leadership

of 2001 President Bruce Smith, NAHB will continue to marshal the strength

and resources of the nation's home-building industry to work towards the

day when all Americans have safe, decent, affordable housing.

(John Hayes,

who is with Torrey Homes, is president of the Home Builders Association

of Midwest Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 460 builders

and associate members in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Heard and Meriwether

counties.)