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Housing affordability and availability go hand and hand. New Yorkers who want to transition from renters to homeowners are often blocked by high interest rates, rising property prices and a limited number of starter homes.

With more people staying in apartments, turnover rates are low, which gives landlords the upper hand in setting rents. It’s the law of supply and demand, and both renters and would-be homeowners are feeling the pinch.

One way to uncork the bottleneck in housing affordability and availability is to build more new starter homes at affordable prices. Having more entry-level housing would enable more renters to purchase........

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