Solving America's Shortage of Homes Working Families Can Afford: Fifteen Success Stories shows that red-hot appreciation of housing prices has moved the dream of homeownership beyond the reach of many working families. Among low- to moderate-income families with children, the homeownership rate stands at 56 percent -- a full percentage point below its rate a quarter of a century ago. The rental market offers no relief. Nowhere in the country today can a minimum-wage earner afford a two-bedroom apartment.

As these trends have unfolded, and as the federal role in affordable housing policy has diminished, state and local governments have been forced to become ever more creative and flexible in their attempts to address the nation's shortage of affordable homes. But what is remarkable -- they are succeeding.

This report looks at 15 of these success stories, providing overviews of states and localities that are demonstrating resiliency and adaptability in meeting the affordable homes challenge. Fifteen snapshot case studies provide a portrait of the progress that is possible when enlightened public policy is joined with innovative partnerships and creative problem solving.

Analysis of the case studies yields a set of underlying principles that may serve to guide states and localities that are grappling with the home affordability crisis. Many of these principles represent new ways of looking at this seemingly intractable problem. They suggest the need for a departure from orthodoxy, a break from past practices. In brief, these principles, outlined in this report, suggest that increasing the supply of homes within reach of working families demands a willingness to experiment.