The U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance recently held a hearing outlining the housing challenges faced by rural Americans titled, “Housing in the Heartland: Addressing Our Rural Housing Needs.”
Rep. Mike Flood, Chair of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, welcomed a panel of experts who shared testimony on how rural communities can better leverage private-sector investment and community-led solutions to meet the needs of rural America and evaluate the current state and limitations of existing rural housing programs.
“The problems in the rural parts of our country are a little different than those we see in urban areas,” said Rep. Flood in his opening comments. “While a rural area may have lower land costs, the logistics associated with getting homes built in rural areas can introduce some unique challenges that drive up project costs.”
The panel of witnesses sharing their insight on the topic included:
- Richard Baier, President and CEO, Nebraska Bankers Association
- David Garcia, Policy Director, Up for Growth
- David Lipsetz, President and CEO, Housing Assistance Council
- Ian Maute, Director of Development, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (BCHF), on behalf of the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing (CARH)
Baier leads the Nebraska Bankers Association as President and CEO. Previously, Baier served as EVP of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, leading an initiative focused on Nebraska’s long-term competitiveness. Baier served eight-plus years (for two different governors) as the Director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. His previous experience included serving as Executive Director of the Development Corporation of North Platte (NE) and EVP of the Greater York Area Chamber of Commerce/York County Development Corporation (NE). He began his professional career as the Assistant City Administrator in La Vista, Nebraska.
“There are a number of unique challenges which limit the ability of rural areas to maintain and build adequate housing,” said Baier during his testimony. “A majority of the homes currently being built in rural areas are large, custom homes which carry a hefty price tag. The owners of these custom homes have the financial resources to construct and finance this type of dwelling. However, there is a clear lack of housing to accommodate working families. Fundamentally, Nebraska, like other rural areas of our great country, lacks an adequate supply of material vendors, contractors, and subcontractors to successfully build new housing units. In Nebraska, for example, there is only one true concrete business located west of our state’s east-west midpoint. Similarly, rural counties often have only one or two highly trained tradespeople in certain specialties (i.e., plumbers and HVAC). These subcontractors often have more business than they want or need.”
Garcia serves as Policy Director for Up for Growth, where he is responsible for building, stewarding, and advocating for its portfolio of pro-housing policies. Up for Growth’s member network totals more than 350 organizations nationwide, including builders, advocates, policymakers, and national trade associations. He joined Up for Growth after a six-year stint at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also its first Policy Director. During his tenure, Garcia led the Center’s engagement in local, state, and federal housing policy, and supported the generation of research-driven policy ideas, proposals, and papers. His work and insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and NPR. Previously, he worked in real estate development in Stockton, California, and before that, served as an analyst for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, D.C.
“Rural housing development faces unique barriers, especially concerning inadequate infrastructure. Essential upgrades to water, sewer, power, and road infrastructure are frequently necessary for new developments, but these improvements can be prohibitively expensive,” noted Garcia during his testimony. “Many rural communities rely on difficult-to-expand utilities, such as well as water or septic systems, which often limit community growth. Even the reliability of existing utility systems also presents a challenge due to their age and distance from central infrastructure. Moreover, the economics of rural housing production can be especially challenging. High transportation costs for construction materials and difficulty sourcing skilled labor drive up costs. And the smaller-scale projects typical of rural communities also rarely benefit from economies of scale, further inflating new housing’s price tag.”
Lipsetz serves as President and CEO at the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) and is an expert in affordable housing and sustainable community development. He came to HAC after holding several White House-appointed positions, including Associate Administrator for Rural Housing and Community Facilities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.) His office oversaw policy development and program administration of more than $100 billion in direct lending, mortgage guarantees, grants and technical assistance for community and economic development in rural America. Prior to USDA, he was at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), where he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary and Senior Advisor for Public and Indian Housing, and as an Acting Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary. Prior to his time at HUD, he managed policy, large-scale initiatives, and organizational development for housing agencies in New York City and Oakland, California. He also worked for the San Francisco Bay Area’s regional planning authority; and Dresden, Germany’s Institute for Ecological and Regional Development. His career began as a Legislative Assistant for domestic policy issues in the Office of U.S. Rep. John Dingell.
“If I were to summarize my testimony, it would be to say that there is a housing affordability crisis in rural America, and we have the tools to address it if we work together to lower regulatory barriers and invest in proven, public private partnerships, while also recognizing the role of federal supports in housing markets that are experiencing market dysfunction,” said Lipsetz to the House Subcommittee. “Without direction, the private market is not enough to address this mismatch in supply and demand. There has never been a society in the history of civilization that has been able to house all of its people through the private market alone–there has always been a public or social component to the housing market.”
Maute has been involved in the development of housing using the LIHTC, USDA Rural Development, and HUD funding programs since 2005. He is an expert in both new construction projects and the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing affordable housing properties. As Director of Development for BCHF, Maute is responsible for all development activities across the organization’s footprint. Maute is the former President of the Ohio Housing Council Board of Trustees, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio Council for Affordable and Rural Housing, and is the VP of the Board of Directors for the National Council for Affordable and Rural Housing. Maute is also President of CARH in Alexandria, Virginia, a national non-profit trade organization. Since 1980, CARH has served as the nation’s premier association for participants in the affordable rural housing profession, including builders, owners, developers, managers, non-profits, housing authorities, syndicators, accountants, architects, attorneys, bankers, and companies that supply goods and services to the industry.
“Throughout rural America, there continues to be an overwhelming need for both affordable and decent housing. The lack of affordable housing reflects the limited investment in these localities,” added Maute, speaking on behalf of CARH, during the hearing. “Rural renters are more than twice as likely to live in substandard housing compared to people who own their own homes. With lower median incomes and higher poverty rates than homeowners, many renters are simply unable to find decent housing that is also affordable. While the demand for rental housing in rural areas remains high, the supply, particularly of new housing, has decreased. Neither the private nor the public sector can produce affordable rural housing independently of the other; it needs to be a partnership.”
Click here for more on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing, “Housing in the Heartland: Addressing Our Rural Housing Needs.”
