Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed an executive order Monday aimed at addressing the Garden State’s housing crisis.
The order, her 17th, directs state agencies to work together to make housing more available and affordable for residents.
The order, signed within the administration's first 100 days, creates a Housing Governing Council led by the state's Chief Operating Officer, with the Department of Community Affairs, the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the Economic Development Authority, and NJ Transit also at the table. A full housing plan is expected by September.
"We can't make New Jersey more affordable without making housing more affordable," Sherrill said. "With this Executive Order, we are aligning every tool at our disposal to accelerate housing production and make it easier for families to put down roots in the communities they love."
The order sets three deadlines. By June 11, the Housing Governing Council must be up and running. By June 27, all state agencies must submit written reports to the Governor's Office identifying ways to speed up home construction, build on state-owned land, and remove unnecessary red tape. By Sept. 24, the council must issue recommendations on five issues:
Sen. Benjie E. Wimberly, who represents the 35th Legislative District, said the order hits close to home. "I've been in this fight for a long time, right here in LD-35 and in Trenton, because I see every day how housing costs and instability impact our families," he said. "We can build using state land to create opportunity and make sure folks can get into affordable housing."
The order comes as New Jersey faces a serious housing shortage. A March 2026 report from the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey and the National Low Income Housing Coalition found the state has only 34 affordable homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.
Three-quarters of extremely low-income renters in the state pay more than half of their income on rent, according to the report. A full-time worker in New Jersey needs to earn nearly $40 an hour just to afford the average fair market rent on a two-bedroom apartment, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. New Jersey residents are paying at least 30 percent of their income toward housing costs, ranking the state eighth worst in the nation, according to a 2024 Harvard study.
Jamie Ding, Multifamily and Tax Credit Program Administrator at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and a current Jeopardy! contestant on a winning streak, said the order removes long-standing obstacles to building. "I am pleased that this Executive Order clears obstacles and makes it easier to build the housing we need," Ding said. "When we remove unnecessary barriers, we create more opportunities for families to find places to call home in our great state."
Sherrill's proposed state budget for fiscal year 2027 includes $70 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which helps first-time homebuyers with down payments.
Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald said the state must move with urgency. "Our housing supply has simply not kept pace with demand, and the crisis is being felt in every community," he said, adding that leveraging underutilized state-owned land and focusing development near transit would help workers live closer to their jobs and allow businesses to attract talent.
Sen. Troy Singleton, chair of the Senate Community Affairs Committee, welcomed the order but said supply remains the central challenge. "We must modernize our zoning laws, put underused land back to work, and clear the roadblocks that keep shovels out of the ground," he said.
Adam Gordon, executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center, said the order builds on a 2024 state law requiring towns to update their affordable housing plans. "By making it easier to build homes near transit, advancing affordable housing development on public land, and helping residents access the affordable homes that already exist, Governor Sherrill is focusing on practical solutions that can make a real difference quickly," he said.
Peter Kasabach, executive director of New Jersey Future, said the problem comes down to supply. "Housing is unaffordable today because there are just not enough homes to rent or buy that meet people's needs and budgets," he said.
The Governor's Housing Conference, where the full housing plan will be released, is scheduled for Sept. 24.
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