Ply Gem: Affordable Housing Month in May

The shortage of affordable homes is growing at a disturbing rate and continues to be an issue in every state and metropolitan area in the U.S. With the gap of affordable and available entry level homes at an all-time high, more and more of the population are forced to rent.

To raise awareness across the nation, Ply Gem, a building products manufacturer, is inviting the entire building industry, media and interested consumers to help address the issue of the lack of affordable housing in the U.S. The company has dubbed May as Affordable Housing Month and is committed to helping make affordable housing more accessible to everyone. For many Americans, home ownership is a distant dream and what’s more, affordable rental properties are also becoming nearly impossible to find.

Constantly pursuing ways to streamline operations to help lower the cost of home building products, Ply Gem is ultimately making homes more affordable and accessible to families just starting out. Ply Gem believes that as a manufacturer it is critical to develop cost-effective solutions at every stage of the manufacturing process to help tackle this ongoing challenge. Affordable Housing Month is a focused movement in combination with Ply Gem’s Home for Good project, an ongoing effort that’s helping to build hundreds of homes across the U.S. with Habitat for Humanity.

With the number of available entry level homes falling by 34% over the last 4 years, more home ownership has become challenging for many. Last year alone, starter homes saw the biggest decrease in inventory of all homes on the market, dropping by 10.7% from 2015. Further, per the real estate site Zillow, millennials are finding home ownership tougher than their parents did with Americans aged 18-34 earning $2,000 less per year today than they did in 1980, even after adjusting for inflation. And it doesn't end there. Extremely low income renter households account for 26% of all U.S., renter households and nearly 10% of all households. These 8.1 million households are spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities alone, leaving little to afford necessities including clothing, food and transportation, let along the comfortable touches that make a house a home.

To address this nationwide issue, Ply Gem is not only working to raise awareness in the industry but is also touching lives through the Home For Good™ - in support of Habitat for Humanity® - a project with a multiyear mission to help make affordable home ownership a reality for families across the United States.

In 2016, Ply Gem – through its Home for Good project — committed more than $1 million in building materials and funds; and last year along helped to build 300 homes, in 63 communities across the U.S. In 2017, Ply Gem is continuing the mission in partnering with Habitat for Humanity® and GRAMMY® award-winning artist Darius Rucker to build hundreds more homes to help families in need of affordable housing.

Learn more now at Home for Good project and help make affordable housing accessible to everyone during Affordable Housing Month.