By Mike Inganamort
Something has been bothering me.
A good friend in his late 20’s, a college grad working hard for $85,000 a year, lives in his aunt’s attic apartment because he can’t afford his own place in New Jersey. Not a home, not even an apartment. He’s in the prime of his life, but he’s stuck. Some his age are married and, with two incomes, can just about manage a condo or small house. Others have family help. But for the single guy pulling himself up by the bootstraps, the path to full independence is blocked. The average age of a first-time homebuyer in America is now 40, an all-time high. Housing is simply too expensive.
In my two years in the State Assembly and six years in local government before that, I’ve held firm that state-imposed affordable housing mandates are wrong. In Chester Township where I served as mayor, we have no public water, no public sewer, and virtually no buildable land. Forced development there is impractical. And like many Republicans, I’ve argued that such mandates would take the “garden” right out of the Garden State.
But that message only resonates with those already in their homes. It falls flat with those still trying to get there. And it’s one of the main reasons Republicans struggled at the polls this year in New Jersey and across the country.
In short, Republicans need a housing agenda.
Venture capitalist Peter Thiel saw this coming. Back in 2020, he warned that capitalism wasn’t working for today’s young people, who are priced out of home ownership. These young people are turning toward more radical alternatives like socialism. Today, about two-thirds of young Americans view socialism positively. One of their champions, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, is about to lead the financial capital of the world. Crazy? Maybe. But it’s real and it’s a signal.
If Republicans want to win again and someday govern this state, we need to take a hard look at our platform for young people. To start, we need more housing that they can actually afford. A 50-year mortgage would lower monthly costs, but the debt would almost certainly outlast the stay, putting ownership even further out of reach. We need more and better ideas.
To start, Republicans should embrace the YIMBY (“Yes In My Backyard”) approach to private property. Accessory dwellings let grandma and grandpa – or maybe the nephew in his late 20’s – live semi-independently without going broke. Restrictive zoning laws typically prevent this, resulting in families that are priced out of living near each other. Local governments should recognize this impact and ease zoning restrictions on existing homeowners who wish to reimagine their own private property. While they’re at it, towns should put in place a “shot clock” on permit applications.
We need to get serious about redeveloping blighted areas. As properties like shopping malls and strip malls sit vacant, they become ideal sites for reimagined housing, and with the least impact on open space or the environment. The state can and should encourage that transformation through smart tax incentives.
We need to make “mixed-use” mean something. It would be one thing to add a commercial overlay to a residential neighborhood, but an entirely different thing to add a residential overlay on a corporate park or a shopping mall or a restaurant. In fact, make the residential overlay universal. Anywhere infrastructure and buildings exist is space we can unlock for new homes, and that includes the 62 towns that are exempt from New Jersey’s affordable housing requirements.
Think about how America responded to the generation of veterans in need of housing after World War II. Levittowns popped up across the country and gave many, though not all, their first foothold in the American Dream.
We need bold thinking like that again. And it falls to Republicans to provide it. Let’s offer solutions for today’s young people, not just yesterday’s homeowners.
Michael Inganamort represents the 24th Legislative District in the State Assembly.
