Workforce Housing:
Chambers and Realtors Building Retention Solutions for Business

Rising costs in home ownership have now placed housing at the center of discussions about attracting and retaining a stable and skilled workforce. Chambers of commerce recognize that the lack of affordable housing for workers is a significant business concern for area employers – who are unable to recruit and retain entry-level and moderate-wage workers because of their inability to purchase or rent housing near their places of employment.

Given experts' forecasts of housing prices continually rising faster than wages in many growing geographic regions and occupations, employers via their local chambers of commerce are creating and implementing solutions for "workforce housing" - housing that is affordable to working families. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), in partnership with the National Association of Realtors Housing Opportunity Program (NAR) helped local chambers of commerce and trade associations address this issue. As the point of first contact for many homebuyers and renters, realtors are ideally situated to work in collaboration with local chambers of commerce, the point of first contact for small and medium-sized employers, to find regional housing solutions that work for employers and their workforce.

Funder:
National Association of Realtors' Housing Opportunities Program

Publications:

Power of Partnerships (pdf, Aug. 2008) 

Strengthening Our Workforce and Our Communities Through Housing Solutions