Why America needs a more balanced housing policy.

For almost 50 years, the United States' national housing policy has overwhelmingly emphasized homeownership, implying that homeownership alone could solve all of our housing-related problems. But for many of the country's most pressing challenges, apartments are a much better solution than homeownership initiatives.

For example, homeownership is a blunt and inefficient tool to use to fix the growing shortage of affordable housing. And for a country determined to grow smarter and reduce suburban sprawl, homeownership initiatives may exacerbate the problem by sending families far from urban areas in search of inexpensive land.

What America really needs is a more balanced housing policy that values--and provides incentives for--rental housing. Rental housing may not be as strong a political message as homeownership, but the plain fact is that this nation needs apartments. We need them for the 78 million Echo Boomers who have graduated from college and are looking for housing. We need them for the nearly 9 million immigrants who will come to this country in the next 10 years looking for a place to start their new lives. We need them for the millions of hard-working families who are paying more than half their income for shelter or living in substandard housing. And we need them to help house the nation's nearly 78 million Baby Boomers as they age and can no longer take care of themselves.

Not only do we need apartments, but a growing number of Americans want them. For generations, America's housing was determined by families with children who moved to single-family houses in the suburbs. But today those families are less than 25 percent of American households.

In their place are young professionals, couples without children, empty nesters and single parents. And many of these households are choosing to rent because apartments provide the conveniences, amenities, shorter commutes and financial freedom they cannot find in single-family detached housing.

For decades, the government has given many breaks to homeowners while imposing a long list of regulations and roadblocks on apartments. If we are serious about wanting to build more successful communities, we need to balance our nation's housing policy to explicitly recognize the importance of apartments.

We urge policymakers to challenge their old ways of thinking and work together to craft new housing policies that ensure everyone has access to decent and affordable housing--regardless of whether they own or rent. If we do not adapt our housing policy to these new realities, it will become counterproductive and prevent us from solving other pressing housing problems.

The National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) have joined to advocate for a more balanced housing policy, one that respects the rights of individuals to choose housing that best meets their financial and lifestyle needs. We urge decision-makers at all levels of government to work with us to craft a smarter housing policy that:

* Ensures that everyone has access to decent and affordable housing, regardless of his or her housing choice.

* Respects the rights of individuals to choose the housing that best meets their financial and lifestyle needs without disadvantaging, financially or otherwise, those who choose apartment living.

* Promotes healthy and livable communities by encouraging responsible land use and promoting the production of all types of housing.

* Recognizes that all decent housing, including apartments, and all citizens, including renters, make positive economic, political and social contributions to their communities.

* Balances the expected benefits of regulations with their costs to minimize the impact on housing affordability.