Sure. Yes, an acquisition fund would be really important for non-profits in particular, especially those non-profits committed to providing actual affordable housing.
I just want to clarify what we're talking about here. There are about one million renter households in core housing need in this country. Their average earnings are about 25 grand a year: That means they can afford a rent, at 30% of their income, of approximately $550 a month, so there's affordable and then there's “affordable”. Non-profits have been playing that role. They cannot compete in this so-called market against the big buyers in this country.
There are conglomerates, big corporations, that have way more access to capital than do even smaller developers such as Ms. Keesmaat, for example. I'm sure she has come up against this, where it's difficult to compete against a big developer or a big real estate investment trust that has access to more capital.
Those acquisition funds and the right of first refusal for both city governments and not-for-profit corporations are super important and could lead to, yes, less loss of affordable housing, but also the creation of more affordable housing.