As you know, housing affordability today is the worst it has been in decades. Rent prices have risen more than 30 percent in many markets, and single-family home prices have increased nearly as much. In the meantime, combined with rising interest rates, the income needed to become a first-time homebuyer has nearly doubled. These are just a few of the many reasons why membership in NHC is more important than ever.
Our achievements to date, and those just ahead, are due to the power of collaboration between diverse segments of the housing ecosystem. NHC has been proud to serve as a facilitator for these often unlikely coalitions. Your contribution to our work – both in financial and intellectual capital – has been essential to our success. I hope you will renew your membership as soon as possible. And for those of you who are not currently members, it’s a great time to join us. There are many levels of engagement, from the Emerging Leaders in Affordable housing for those 35 and under at just $50 per year, to our Platinum Leadership Circle at $25,000. You can review all of the levels of support and join or renew your membership at https://members.nhc.org/page/join-now.
NHC began its tenth decade with a renewed and reinvigorated leadership position in the affordable housing policy environment. Our role is to help our stakeholders develop broadly supported policies representing the highest common denominator among diverse interests. This has been demonstrated by our success enacting the $10 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund, our work with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on finding a path forward on a unified modernization plan for CRA, the creation and launch of the Black Homeownership Collaborative (BHC), which celebrated its first anniversary in Atlanta on June 20, 2022, and ongoing efforts to build bipartisan support for housing production policies.
NHC has also been a valuable advocate for affordable housing in the media. Over the past year, we have been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, American Banker, Housing Wire, Forbes, MarketPlace, NBC News, PBS News Hour, CNN and FOX Business News.
We will also be holding all of our policy events in person or blended next year, and will hold our Housing Visionary Awards Gala at the Anthem on June 20, 2023. Full Members receive one ticket to the Gala and a 50 percent discount on additional tickets. Leadership Circle members receive more Gala tickets and promotional consideration at all of our events. New members who join for 2023 can receive their membership benefits immediately.
I also invite you to attend our December 6, 2022, Solutions for Affordable Housing convening that provides the opportunity for attendees to explore the leading edge of affordable housing strategies and policy solutions. Following the November election, we expect outstanding attendance by policymakers and stakeholders alike. The event is both live and online at the National Press Club.
Our members also receive our weekly Member Brief, with features like the Chart of the Week, What We’re Reading, and The Week Ahead, a detailed calendar of coming housing events and announcements. We also publish a weekly Member Note, which covers major economic developments and discussions of key housing issues like the end of year housing agenda, the role of tax incentives in housing, and the single-family rental market. And you can always count on straight talk about controversial issues like the failure of Build Back Better and racial equity.
NHC depends on the financial and intellectual support of our members to do our work on your behalf. We look forward to working with you over the coming year.