Examining Kentucky’s critical housing challenges and the impact on economic development is the focus of a new report released by the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research, in partnership with the Home Builders Association of Kentucky.
“Building a Foundation for Growth: Meeting Kentucky’s Current and Future Housing Needs” combines research and feedback from local leaders across Kentucky and highlights the urgent need for action to address the state’s housing shortage and affordability challenges.
“State and local leaders across Kentucky are actively working to position Kentucky for growth,” said Charles Aull, the report’s author and Executive Director of the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research. “As this work continues and finds success, overcoming housing challenges must be a top priority. As the report argues, sustainable growth means more housing and more home building in all corners of the Commonwealth.”
Key takeaways of the report include:
- Community leaders underscore the importance of housing to economic development, with 66.2 percent reporting that housing challenges are holding back economic growth and opportunity in their communities and almost 90 percent expressing doubt that their communities could meet the housing demands of a major economic development announcement.
- Kentucky already faces significant housing challenges, including an aging housing stock, a growing gap between home prices and household incomes, and statewide housing shortages estimated to be as high as 206,000 housing units.
- Housing challenges will intensify in the state as Kentucky leaders seek to accelerate economic development and workforce growth, and the state may need to build as many as 529,000 new housing units by 2050 to keep pace.
- Kentuckians want to see more housing and are looking to state and local leaders for action. 75.4 percent of surveyed local Kentucky leaders said they would support new housing developments even if it was near where they lived.
- Key priorities in “Building a Foundation for Growth” emphasize encouraging local land-use and zoning reforms, being smarter about government regulations, incentivizing more affordable housing, and supporting and growing the home building workforce.
“The Commonwealth already faces significant challenges with an aging housing stock, limited housing availability, and prices that are far higher than what most Kentucky families can comfortably afford,” the report says. “These factors are straining household budgets and local communities and causing some to question the state’s economic future. As state and local leaders position the Commonwealth for accelerated economic and workforce growth through policy reforms and strategic investments, these challenges could become greater unless bold action is taken.”
The full report is available at kychamber.com/housing.
This new report builds on previous work by the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research aiming to solve major statewide challenges and support sustainable growth in Kentucky. The Center has previously published reports on workforce participation, tax reform, early childhood education, and substance use disorder.