New Jersey has a housing crisis, and the numbers are stark. The state is short more than 200,000 affordable homes, and residents are feeling it. Alongside climbing rents, homeownership feels increasingly out of reach for working families.
Governor Mikie Sherrill is attempting to tackle the crisis. She signed Executive Order No. 17 this week, launching a government-wide effort to accelerate housing production across the state. The order brings together a Housing Governing Council—chaired by the Chief Operating Officer and co-chaired by the Department of Community Affairs, the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the Economic Development Authority, and NJ Transit—to coordinate action across agencies that have historically operated in silos.
“We can’t make New Jersey more affordable without making housing more affordable,” Sherrill said. “With this Executive Order, we are aligning every tool at our disposal to accelerate housing production and make it easier for families to put down roots in the communities they love.”
As supply drags behind, home prices in New Jersey continue to rise faster than any other state in the nation.
What Happens and When
The executive order sets three firm deadlines:
- By June 11: The Housing Governing Council must convene.
- By June 27: Every state agency must submit a written report identifying immediate actions to accelerate housing production, cut red tape, build on state-owned land, and remove unnecessary regulatory barriers.
- By September 24: The council must issue recommendations on housing goals, production tracking, unused state land development, and affordable housing access.
A full housing plan is expected to be unveiled by September.
The Housing Crisis is No Joke
The housing shortage is felt across every community in the Garden State. “Rents keep climbing, owning a home feels out of reach for too many people, and families are getting priced out of the communities they helped build,” said NJ State Senator Troy Singleton, Chair of the Senate Community Affairs Committee.
Key priorities include transit-oriented development, converting underutilized state-owned land into housing, and streamlining the permitting process—which Sherrill has already targeted through earlier executive action.
The clock is running. Governor Sherrill’s goal is ambitious, but there are more than 200,000 reasons to meet it.