On Monday, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced that National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will co-host the Department's inaugural "Innovative Housing Showcase."
"We're thrilled to have the National Association of Home Builders co-host this Showcase," said Secretary Ben Carson. "It's important we highlight these new building technologies that are answering the call for more affordable, durable housing options for families across America."
"The housing affordability crisis is affecting both builders and consumers nationwide. We are honored to be co-hosting this event with HUD as we work together to find solutions to this growing problem," said Greg Ugalde, Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.
One way HUD is addressing affordability is through investment in Opportunity Zones. [1] HUD recently announced that is seeking public input on how the Department can use its existing authorities to maximize the beneficial impact of Opportunity Zones for residents and their communities. The Request for Information (RFI) is a call for the public to share existing knowledge and provide recommendations to HUD regarding the use of public and private investments in urban and economically distressed communities, including qualified Opportunity Zones.
“Opportunity Zones present tremendous promise for America’s distressed communities,” Carson said. “Through this request, we are looking to better understand how HUD can better tailor its policies and help Opportunity Zones create more positive economic outcomes for the millions of Americans that live in these areas, and for our country as a whole.”
After being designated as “opportunity zones,” low-income and high-poverty areas have seen a surge in sale prices. Investors, keen to receive a discount on capital gains taxes for investing within these areas, flock to these opportunity zones, according to an analysis by Zillow.
According to Zillow [2], sale prices in all eligible areas "grew faster than prices in places that weren't, but after opportunity zones were selected, price-growth trends diverged among eligible tracts."
The Innovative Housing Showcase will be held on the National Mall June 1-5, 2019, to educate policy makers and the broader public on the new housing innovations and building technologies.