Home builders and buyers alike are asking the same question today: What can be done to make housing more affordable?

Builders are constrained by factors that drive up the cost of building a home and over which they have little control. The most pressing of these include a lack of skilled labor, excessive regulatory costs, and an increase in materials prices.

When builders can’t build affordable homes, buyers can’t afford desirable homes. And, the fact of the matter is that a generational divide is only exacerbating the impact of less affordable new construction: baby boomers are choosing to stay in their homes longer. This means that the next largest generation of home buyers, millennials, have limited options in their quest to achieve homeownership, and the dream of owning a home (and getting out of their parents’ basement) is moving that much farther out of reach.

Two of the nation’s leading experts in housing policy, the NAHB and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), collaborated to create a space where ideas and solutions to the problem of housing affordability could be discussed, and the Innovative Housing Showcase was born. The vision for the show—which was located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.—was to bring together industry experts, government officials, and the public to collaborate on housing issues and corresponding solutions. I believe we achieved exactly that.

For five days in early June, exhibitors from each corner of the housing industry displayed their products, which included full-sized homes and new building technologies, in the nation’s figurative front yard. Every exhibitor brought innovative solutions to the table, from a modified shipping container home to a trenchless digger. The sentiment was clear: the future of housing is already here, and forward-looking innovation has the potential to enable the home building industry to keep pace with economic and demographic shifts while keeping the dream of homeownership and affordable housing alive for all Americans.

During the event, HUD Secretary Ben Carson and I spoke about the need for policy reform. Additionally, we heard from Federal Emergency Management Agency acting administrator Pete Gaynor, who emphasized the need for housing that is resilient and can withstand the impacts of a natural disaster. And Federal Housing Finance Agency director Mark Calabria spoke on the need for comprehensive housing finance reform.

This showcase is just the tip of the spear, though. We know we must act to make housing more affordable, and we have laid the foundation for strong collaborative action.

Here in Washington, NAHB and HUD will continue to push for policies that will help more Americans achieve their dreams of homeownership. I hope all members of the home building industry will join us in this crucial effort. When we join forces, we are stronger together.