"Millions of Americans — many of whom are college-educated, working-class people — are struggling to put roofs over their heads because of a lack of affordable housing," Nancy Welsh, founder of Builders of Hope in Raleigh, N.C., said in a column published in the Washington Post today.

"We have millions of people in need of permanent housing and millions of units of vacant housing available. Instead of demolishing these homes, the inventory should be reused to rebuild the stagnant housing market, as well as address the immediate need for affordable housing and job creation," Welsh argued.

Taking that route also would keep millions of pounds of demolition debris out of landfills, she noted.

"If the average U.S. household size is 2.58 people, the 3 million homes potentially slated for tear down could provide shelter for 7.74 million people — or roughly the population of the state of Virginia," Welsh said.

The proposal did not address whether renovation and repair would generate the same number of construction jobs as demolition and new building.