This document outlines a strategy to advocate for pro-housing policies and shift the narrative around housing issues. It recommends: 1) Responding to claims about housing crises with data to show issues may not be as severe as claimed and establish a research center to provide accurate data. 2) Sharing proposals to increase affordable housing supply through market-based solutions like rent subsidies rather than building more subsidized units. 3) Conducting research to understand why people believe housing should be a right and not a commodity in order to change minds and support policies enabling more abundant market-rate housing. The overall goal is to "take back the commanding heights" of the housing debate by providing counterarguments and market

1. Taking the Commanding Heights
of the Housing Economy
How and why to Fight Anti-Property
Rights Regulations

2. About Us:
Seattle For Growth is a partnership advocating for more
housing of all types, in all neighborhoods, for all levels of
income. We are for jobs. We are for opportunity. We are for
change. We are for innovation. We are for progress. We are for
growth!

3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogervaldez/

4. When did the housing crisis start?

5. Who is in control of the housing
debate?
“Addressing residential
injustice and inequality
will demand state action
as well as large-scale
popular mobilization. A
real right to housing
implies radical social
change.”

6. Who is in control of the housing
debate?
“Eviction is a cause, not
just a condition, of
poverty.”

7. More jobs from Amazon? No.
Outrage.
"We've been getting calls and
outreach from Queens residents
all day about this. The
community's response? Outrage.”

8. What do they say are the causes of the
housing problem?
Jobs – “The dispute in Seattle has arisen from the rapid escalation in
housing prices and a resulting surge in homelessness, due in no
small part to the influx of highly paid workers employed by Amazon
and other area tech companies.”
Racism – “Our findings are consistent with other studies that found
people of color are more likely to face eviction than white tenants.”
Greed – Landlords “grab for even more king-sized profits, median
rents in California are higher than any other state in the country.
Among all 50 states, California has the fourth highest increase in
rents.”
Market manipulation – “The windows of the cool new condo towers
near False Creek are mostly dark because no one lives there, while
people who work in the city cannot find or afford a place to live.”

9. “Housing is a human right!”
What does this mean?
• Housing is not a commodity
• Housing is an entitlement
• Winners and losers chosen before the
game
• No risks only guarantees for consumers
• Government ownership of housing

10. “Housing is a human right!”
How will they accomplish this?
• Establish that eviction is an “epidemic”
• Limit screening of tenants
• Eliminate screening of tenants
• Control the price of rentals
• Civil Gideon: All tenants get a lawyer
• Eviction is banned
These are happening little by little, one new law at
a time.

12. Start with what we know is true
• Jobs – Jobs expand opportunity, not
homelessness
• Racism – Racism is real, but the solution is
opportunity not more limits on value exchange
• Greed – Competition created by more supply
helps people with less money
• Market manipulation – The solution to any effort
to corner the housing market is more supply
• Who are we? – People who build and operate
housing are doing a good thing

13. The Price System: What do we know
and believe?
• A market is a where people's assets meet other
peoples deficits
• Markets allows an exchange of value
• Price: A measure of supply and demand
• Competition between sellers means better deals
for buyers
• Information is the key to success and innovation
• Risk is essential to expand the housing economy

14. Three steps to take back the heights
• Data – Respond with the best data possible,
and get better data out before they do
• Good ideas – We have many proposals for
solving housing problems
• Change minds – We need research to
understand why people think what they do

15. Data: In Seattle

16. Data: Cincinnati
You can’t have an epidemic if you don’t know the
endemic rate of eviction. Is 3.9 percent an epidemic?
How many evictions should there be? The answer from
advocates is always, “Zero!”

17. Better Ideas
Cash for rent – Buy down cost burden rather
than build expensive subsidized housing years
from now.
A CASH SUBSIDY FOR A FAMILY OF 3
Annual Income Monthly
Income
Rent for 2 Bd
(30% of Gross
Monthly Income)
Actual Rent Difference
Annual Cash
Subsidy
Needed
Subsidy Over
10 Years
$32,520 $2,710 $813 $1,355 $542 $6,504 $65,040
A UNIT FOR A FAMILY OF 3
Total Cost of
Built Unit
Monthly
Operating
Costs
Annual
Operating
Costs
Operating
Costs Over 10
Years
Annual Rent
Collected
Rent Collected
Over 10 Years
Subsidy Over
10 Years
$400,000 $417 $5,004 $50,040 $9,756 $97,560 $352,480
SAVINGS $287,440

18. Talk to People About Housing
People intuitively believe in
• Fairness – People that have a lot shouldn’t
have too much, and those have a little,
shouldn’t have too little.
• Efficiency – Compassion shouldn’t be hard for
people to express; it should be efficient
• Supply and Demand – People get that when a
thing is scarce, it will be expensive.

19. What’s at stake?

20. Center for Housing Economics
Solid research and data – Every day inaccurate and unhelpful
statements, comments, and headlines make the housing
discussion more confusing. We respond with accurate data and
reports.
Leading edge proposals for more housing – There are good
ideas for increasing housing production and making life better
for consumers but don’t raise prices. We will research and
share those.
Changing the narrative – Why do people believe what they do
about housing? We need to ask them and learn what would
shift their thinking away from worrying about scarcity and
toward supporting more housing abundance.

21. Thank You!
Seattleforgrowth.org