Poll Shows Great Concern Over Affordable Housing

by Cherie Duvall

More than half of Americans believe housing policy, with respect to the provision of affordable housing, is on the wrong track, according to a new Zogby America poll.

Last Wednesday, a coalition of public, private and nonprofit advocacy groups discussed the outcome of the nationwide poll, which addresses affordable housing in terms of issues such as personal priorities and voting behavior, at a press conference in Washington, D.C. Likewise, NLC found that affordable housing was the “most pressing concern affecting quality of life” in its recently released Opinion Poll of 600 local elected officials from across the country.

“We are particularly concerned about the growing numbers of foreclosures in our communities and are seeking stronger protections against predatory lending to ensure that sustainable homeownership is in the reach of all Americans,” said NLC President Bart Peterson, mayor of Indianapolis.  

Results of the Zogby poll, a telephone survey of adults nationwide conducted by Zogby International, underscore America’s affordable housing crisis. One-third of respondents cited having a decent, affordable place to live as their number one priority.

The poll also shows that affordable housing will affect the way Americans vote. Seventy-five percent said that presidential candidates’ ideas for providing more affordable housing were important in determining for whom they would vote. Nearly seven in 10 said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who had articulated a detailed plan for providing affordable housing.

The announcement of the Zogby poll kicked off a nationwide affordable housing awareness campaign, “Housing America 2007.” From March 21 to April 9, affordable housing industry members and advocates across the country will participate in the campaign by sponsoring events or activities designed to highlight the critical affordable housing shortage and the need for programs, policies and resources to more effectively address local housing needs.

Housing America 2007 aims to raise public consciousness of the critical role of housing and community development initiatives and the fundamental benefits the nation receives from these activities. The goal of the campaign is to address the housing needs of a nation in which an estimated 754,000 are homeless on any given night, and minimum wage earners are unable to afford a one-bedroom home anywhere in the country.

The target sample of the Zogby poll is 1,205 interviews with approximately 55 questions asked. Samples are randomly drawn from telephone CDs of national listed sample.