Across much of the U.S., housing costs are rising faster than paychecks with little sign of relief.
That urgency was on full display at the TD Housing Summit in New York City last month. Leaders from across sectors agreed that smart ideas aren’t enough: restoring housing affordability will take coordinated partnerships, practical innovation and follow-through from developers, nonprofits, financial institutions and government entities.
“In improving housing affordability, innovation only matters if it’s implemented,” said Andrew Warren Senior Vice President, Community Development Lending, TD Bank U.S. “It has to run from research to policy to capital to practice and then back again for a reality check. Too often, those worlds operate in silos.”
Shelley Sylva, Head of Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank U.S., welcomed the audience by defining the purpose of the summit as "building a shared framework for making housing more accessible across the nation."
The event featured two main sessions, four breakout discussions and a keynote address, with programming focused on topics such as Support for Renters and Housing Supply Solutions.
For Karen Ford, CEO of Housing Plus, which provides community-based services in New York City, the summit underscored how similar the challenges are nationwide.
“There is a surprising similarity between the challenges of people struggling with housing instability, whether they live in urban, rural or suburban areas,” Karen said. “It was exciting to learn about innovative strategies from across the country to help meet those challenges.”
From research to reality
The problem of housing affordability is well understood. The harder question is what comes next and how to close the gap between research, policy ambitions and real-world impact. That challenge anchored a panel led by Andrew Warren.
Three leaders whose organizations were from different segments of the housing industry joined Andrew to explore how evidence, policy and capital can reinforce one another.
Panelists pointed to Permanent Supportive Housing, often framed through the Housing First model, as a case where research helped build bipartisan political support by linking better outcomes to public cost savings. They also noted that even evidence-based models need local adaptation, especially in rural areas where services and financing can look very different.
Extreme weather
Francis Fong, Managing Director, ESG Research, TD Economics, hosted a panel on how extreme weather is reshaping housing affordability. Francis was a co-author of Weathering the Storm – the Next Phase of America’s Cost of Housing Crisis.
Introducing the panel, Amber Tofilon, Head of Sustainability at TD Bank U.S., noted that “the connection between extreme weather and housing affordability is one we cannot ignore.”
“Extreme weather is quietly — but materially — driving up costs, reducing supply and shifting where and how people can live,” Amber said. “Recovering from, protecting against or relocating because of extreme weather impacts financially stressed households the most.”
Francis said that insurance is one of the areas "that is on the front lines of facing the extreme weather crisis.”
The panel discussed how climate risk is rippling through insurance markets and what role government could play in easing pressure. Panelists called for clearer disclosure and consumer education earlier in the homebuying process.
A housing market at an inflection point
Paige Carlson-Heim, Head of Social Impact, TD Bank U.S., reflected on two decades of the TD Charitable Foundation’s Housing for Everyone program as she introduced keynote speaker Christopher Tyson, President, National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST).
“For 20 years, it’s been local organizations — many of you in the room — doing the day-to-day work in communities and teaching us what impact really requires,” Paige said. “The lesson is clear: progress happens when practitioners, funders and institutions come together to share what they know and work together to move the needle.”
Christopher opened with NCST’s origins in the 2008 mortgage crisis, when the organization focused on bringing vacant, abandoned and distressed homes back to life as affordable housing opportunities.
He argued the current crisis isn’t a blip but a “structural failure.” Last year, he said, the share of first-time buyers hit a record low, while foreclosures rose. This does create openings to expand housing affordability if systems are in place to respond.
Christopher noted that the rise in foreclosures and distressed properties has left more than a million homes vacant nationwide — a “housing aftermarket” that could expand affordability by putting existing homes back into use, rather than relying solely on new construction.
However, without the right systems, those properties can be purchased by large investors instead of families or community-based developers. Christopher stressed that scaling solutions takes more than innovation; it requires capital, policy support and cross-sector partnerships.
He called on financial institutions to do more, such as support community leaders, rethink how they evaluate smaller developers and expand tools such as first-look programs that give owner-occupants and nonprofits exclusive time to bid on real-estate-owned properties, as well as federal Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).
"The tools are there," Christopher said. "What's needed is the will to act."
As the summit wrapped, Hugh Allen, Head of Commercial Real Estate, TD Bank U.S., brought the conversation back to a simple premise: progress starts with listening. Hugh suggested drawing on insights from policy leaders and practitioners alike which helps the bank become “better partners, stronger policy advocates and more effective capital providers.”
This approach has defined TD’s presence across its entire footprint from Maine to Florida. Hugh highlighted a key milestone his team drove forward in 2025: capital contributions supporting the development of close to 5,000 housing units, backed by roughly $1 billion in low-income housing tax credit investments and more than $1.1 billion in construction loans for affordable housing.
“We heard today that innovation is essential, not for its own sake, but because it can unlock production, improve long-term resilience and stretch scarce resources,” Hugh said. “The work requires aligning public, private and philanthropic capital, simplifying processes and scaling what works for families to deliver safe, stable, affordable housing.”
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