MAINE, USA — MaineHousing released a new report Tuesday to serve as a tool for policymakers and Mainers to better learn the status of affordable housing development in the state as the new year kicks off.
Named the MaineHousing Outlook Report 2023, it includes "several key metrics and analysis from 2022 in an attempt to forecast which factors will help and or hurt affordable housing development in 2023," a news release from MaineHousing said Tuesday.
MaineHousing's Board of Commissioner's Chairman Frank O'Hara conceived the report, while the agency's staff produced it, according to the release.
"From rising interest rates to skyrocketing energy costs to an ongoing shortage of skilled construction labor and lingering supply chain kinks, the report details many of the issues that held back housing development and put renters, homeowners, and housing developers under increasing financial hardships," MaineHousing said in the release.
Mainers and policymakers can also expect to learn just how MaineHousing helped people "remain safely and comfortably housed" in 2022 and how the agency will continue to create new programs to help homeowners and renters in 2023, the release said.
"By focusing on some key housing metrics and data points along with taking a solid inventory of what was achieved in 2022 we are able to build a better roadmap for where we want to go in 2023 as we work to preserve and increase affordable housing options for our fellow Mainers," MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan said in Tuesday's release.
"Like checking the weather forecast before heading out on a long road trip in Maine, this report lets us prepare for both the best and the worst of what might be on the housing horizon in 2023," O'Hara said Tuesday.
MaineHousing said the report will be presented to the Maine Legislature.
You can read the full MaineHousing Outlook Report 2023 on the agency's website here, or you can view the document below.
To learn more about housing and housing-related programs available to help Mainers, click here.