Apartment Industry Applauds President Obama's Call for a Strong Multifamily Sector

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Statement from the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) by Cindy Chetti, NMHC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, in response to President Obama's speech today on housing finance reform:

"We applaud President Obama's decision to make housing a priority in his economic initiative and support his efforts to advance housing finance reform. We are encouraged that he explicitly acknowledged the importance of rental housing and that the federal government has a critical role to play. Before the housing bubble burst, too often policymakers only thought about homeownership when talking about housing policy.

"As Congress considers housing finance reform, it must avoid a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Unlike single family, the multifamily market uses commercial mortgage debt products. Imposing single family market reforms on the multifamily sector could undermine the ability to provide rental housing to millions of Americans, including student housing, seniors housing, affordable housing and military housing.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the Obama Administration and Congress to create a multifamily housing finance system that features a market dominated by private capital but also includes a federal guarantee for stability and liquidity in all economic cycles. Doing so will ensure the apartment industry can continue to serve our 35 million residents, support millions of jobs and strengthen communities all while protecting the nation's taxpayers."

More information about the GSEs, including the NMHC/NAA key principles for housing finance reform, is available at www.nmhc.org/GSEReform.

View this release online at www.nmhc.org/goto/61312.

For more than 20 years, the National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) have partnered on behalf of America's apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of 170 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. Apartments and their 35 million residents support more than 25 million jobs and contribute $1.1 trillion to the economy. To learn more about apartments, visit www.weareapartments.org. For more information, contact:

NMHC at (202) 974-2300 or info@nmhc.org or www.nmhc.org.
NAA at (703) 797-0616 or carole@naahq.org or www.naahq.org/governmentaffairs.

SOURCE National Multi Housing Council