CCIAOR CEO Op-Ed on Housing

CCIAOR CEO Ryan Castle recently penned an op-ed in the Cape Cod Times about the region's housing crisis, touching on the crisis' origins and offering realistic solutions and the need for acceptance of change. CCIAOR is a member of the Housing to Protect Cape Cod coalition.

Following recent opinion pieces about real estate and housing on Cape Cod, I am compelled to set the record straight about where our members — Realtors — fall in discussing the need for housing affordability and availability. What distinguishes Realtors from those who simply hold a license to sell real estate is a commitment to the Realtor Code of Ethics, anchored in a calling to help our community. The vast majority of our members will tell you their most rewarding moments professionally have come when they’ve helped someone change the trajectory of their life and family security by becoming a first-time homebuyer — sometimes the first person in their family to do so.

Those who are committed to the profession and working every day to help residents reach the dream of homeownership understand the nature of the housing crisis the Cape has inflicted upon itself and see that dream of first-time homeownership eroding as a result.

We have — for generations — eroded private property rights and created an approval process that results in only a handful of units being built and even then, only for those who have years to wait and funding to burn. These measures were taken under the guise of protecting the environment and open space, when in fact, those same regulations have actually hurt our environment by encouraging sprawl and making wastewater more costly to address. We must do things differently, and we as Realtors recognize that — if not, we’ll expect the same result — dirtier water and more expensive housing.

Click here to read the full op-ed on the Cape Cod Times website.