New Hampshire's economic growth over the last decade has created many benefits for most of our citizens. It also generated a demand for housing that has not been met with an appropriate level of new production. The results have been an unprecedented increase in home purchase prices, record low vacancy rates, higher rents and, in general, a housing market that creates a significant affordability challenge for many of our citizens and a barrier to labor force development.

An effective response to these challenges requires that public and private sector actors beyond New Hampshire Housing alone evaluate existing policies and practices and undertake actions, such as the removal of regulatory barriers and the allocation of additional resources, to expand affordable housing opportunities. The Authority, working in partnership with other public and private sector organizations, has assumed a leadership role in developing a broad-based housing education and advocacy initiative.  The Housing Awareness Project is designed to improve public understanding of our state's housing challenge and encourage actions at the local, regional, and state levels to help expand the supply of housing available to all of our state's citizens.

An important aspect of this effort is New Hampshire Housing's support of the New Hampshire Workforce Housing Council, a statewide organization that coordinates and supports local, regional, and statewide efforts to encourage communities to embrace a wide range of housing options to meet the needs of New Hampshire's diverse workforce.