Opinion: Harnessing Market Forces For Good Can Ease America’s Growing Housing Crisis

Phoenix Suns Point Guard Chris Paul and Turner Impact Capital Founder Bobby Turner discuss the benefits of social impact investments in affordable housing.

As policy leaders continue their search for sustainable solutions, it is vital they recognize models that use market forces for good. Yes, that means earning a profit. Market-driven social impact investing succeeds by attracting the investment needed to scale solutions to our most daunting challenges, housing included. 

Directing adequate resources to build new housing, or preserve existing affordable housing, is essential. This is especially true today, when government coffers are running dry and nonprofit assistance is stretched to the breaking point.  

We are working together on a social impact investment strategy at Turner Impact Capital in Santa Monica, Calif. that acquires and preserves affordable workforce housing around the United States. Our first housing fund preserved existing affordable workforce housing communities and enriched them with resident services.

We preserved over 7,800 units, enabling some 14,000 residents to live in safe, stable apartment communities. Based on that success, we recently completed fundraising for a second housing fund that will enable us to invest an additional $1.25 billion in housing affordable to residents earning less than the area median income. We plan to deploy those dollars to keep up to 10,000 apartments affordable for working families and individuals nationwide. 

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