Every Community Needs Good Multifamily Housing
Apartments often get a bad rap. From homeowners to government officials and community leaders, many people react negatively when they learn that a multifamily housing development is planned for their neighborhood.
Did you know, however, that one in four American households chooses to live in a multifamily home? Making the right housing decision is all about having choices. Providing housing options one of the commitments America's home builders make to their communities, and that includes building single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and apartments.
This segment of the housing market obviously serves as an important choice for consumers. Moreover, the negative stereotypes that are often associated with apartments and apartment renters are not borne out by the facts. Indeed, research conducted by the National Association of Home Builders has found that multifamily housing is a critical component of this nation's housing stock, and that-perhaps more than any other housing type-apartments represent Smart Growth.
Higher density development and innovative land-use policies that encourage mixed use and pedestrian-friendly developments in cities and close-in suburbs can be the answer to long commutes and concerns about sprawl. Multifamily developments can help ensure that people can find homes in the places they want to live, near where they work and where they play.
But recognizing that multifamily development is a smart way to "grow" communities, especially those in urban areas in need of revitalization, also means recognizing that every community needs quality multifamily housing.
The good news is apartments themselves, and the companies that own and manage them, are changing for the better all the time. Today's apartment communities have more space and more amenities than they've ever had in the past. High-speed Internet connections, multiple telephone lines, upscale kitchens, whirlpool baths-these are the features of apartments today. Common areas often include business-meeting rooms, community centers with movie screens and fitness centers with the latest in exercise equipment. Today's apartment management companies are large, professional and, in many instances, publicly-held corporations dedicated to 24-hour customer service and resident satisfaction.
Although apartments in general serve younger households and single-occupant households more than single-family homes do, renters across the country represent the diversity that is America. They are young, they are old, they are single, they are married. And they are people who choose not to buy a home at a particular stage of their life, for either economic or lifestyle reasons.
Contrary to popular belief, multifamily developments do not diminish the value of single-family homes. According to NAHB's research, single-family house price appreciation remains roughly the same regardless of whether or not they are built near multifamily communities.
Building smarter means that the public and public officials need to reassess the value of multifamily homes in their communities. Many of the same people who are advocating smart growth in the name of containing suburban "sprawl" are just as vehemently arguing against higher densities in places where they make the most sense, such as transportation hubs and close-in lots that have been vacant or underused for years. You can't be against sprawl, which is low-density building away from city centers, and against high-density building that helps preserve open space and does not expand the urban or inner suburban perimeter.
Those of us in the building industry know that multifamily housing has a significant image problem-and that's why we're committed to debunking the myths and misconceptions that often play into the not-in-my-backyard syndrome.
With more than a million new households being formed annually, America's home builders will have to construct between 1.3 and 1.5 million new housing units just to meet the underlying demand for shelter during the next decade. Many of these housing units must be in apartment communities if we are to meet the needs of consumers and fulfill the public's mandate to "grow smarter." Providing choices in housing is part of home builders' commitment to ensuring that every American has access to safe, decent, affordable housing.
