5. Growing need for affordable housing for America's workers.

As the number of immigrant, minority and female-headed households

continues to grow over the next decade, demand for starter homes

and affordable rental housing will increase. Unfortunately, more

and more working families, including teachers, firefighters,

nurses, police officers and other public servants, are being

priced out of the local markets where they work and they are

commuting two hours or more each day to work.

4. Smart growth. New household formations are expected to average

between 1.3 and 1.6 million per year during the next decade.

To satisfy this robust housing demand, local and state governments

need to enact sound land use policies and reform and streamline

the zoning and regulatory process. Sensible growth management

policies will meet a community's housing needs and allow

for construction of a mix of different types of housing in various

price ranges. At the federal level, policy makers need to establish

a more balanced environmental agenda that supports the twin goals

of providing for a clean and healthy environment and meeting

the nation's housing needs.

3. Credit is the lifeblood of the housing market. Maintaining

an adequate flow of credit is fundamentally important. During

the next decade, America's families will need 125 million

mortgage loans, or an average of $3 trillion annually, for home

purchases and refinancings. Therefore, policy makers must guard

against any backdoor attempts to alter the regulations affecting

the housing government sponsored enterprises in a way that impedes

the ability of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan

banks to provide lenders with new mortgage products and ensure

an affordable and steady flow of credit for home mortgages.

2. Meeting the housing needs of the underserved. The federal

government should also support special programs and tax incentives

that promote homeownership or help low- and moderate-income families

buy or rent decent housing. Housing initiatives in Congress that

enjoy broad bipartisan support, such as the homeownership tax

credit legislation, the FHA zero downpayment program and improvements

in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, need to be enacted into

law.

1. Elevate housing as a national priority. Housing, like other

basic human needs, should be a top national priority. By reaffirming

this commitment to housing, the next Congress and Administration

can help fulfill the promise of the Housing Act of 1949, which

set a goal of "a decent home and a suitable living environment

for every American family."

For more information about the National Association of Home

Builders, visit www.NAHB.org.

(Mac McKinney, who is owner and president of McKinney Builders

Inc., is president of the Home Builders Association of Midwest

Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 550 builders

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

Heard, Pike, Upson, Lamar, Butts and Jasper counties.)

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