By Eugene T. Lowe
April 2, 2007

More than a dozen national organizations, including the Conference of Mayors, released a poll March 21 that they commissioned Zogby International to conduct on affordable housing and the upcoming 2008 elections.

The national groups have joined in a national affordable housing awareness campaign – Housing America – with a goal “to inform and educate decision makers and the general public about the state of the nation’s housing, reestablish housing as a national priority and promote the sustainable development of affordable housing so that every community can provide its citizens with a wide range of housing opportunities.”

In general, the Zogby poll found that U.S adults rate affordable housing as a top priority in their lives, and that national policy is failing on that front. In addition, Americans says they would be more likely to support a presidential candidate with a detailed plan addressing housing costs. More specifically, when asked the question: “On a list of your own individual/family priorities, how important is having a decent affordable place to live on that list?” Ninety percent of the respondents said that affordable housing was either number one on their list or a high priority. When the question was asked regarding the nation’s direction in affordable housing, fifty-one percent of the respondents said the nation was on the wrong track with regard to providing a decent home and suitable living environment for every American family. And sixty-nine percent of the respondents said that they would be more likely to select a presidential candidate who articulated his or her detailed plan for providing affordable housing.

Conference President Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer said of the poll, “In January of this year, the mayors adopted a 10-Point Plan that calls for affordable housing and community development to be at the very top of our national agenda. The Zogby poll shows what mayors already know: affordable housing is a major concern in America.”

The groups participating in Housing America 2007 include the National Association of Realtors; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Housing Assistance Council; Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Mortgage Bankers Association; National Association of Counties; National Association of Home Builders; National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; National Council of State Housing Agencies; National Housing Conference; National League of Cities; National Low Income Housing Coalition and The U.S. Conference of Mayors.