Thousands of rural homes could become unaffordable for tenants as Section 515 phases out

Finding affordable rural housing has been a long-term
problem for residents. (Photo via Insight News)

A federal housing program that has supported affordable housing since 1963 is being phased out, leaving "half a million rural homes at risk," writes Brian Y. An, a public policy expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology, for Insight News, which serves the greater Minneapolis area. As Section 515 mortgages get paid off, landowners no longer have to guarantee lower rental costs.

While many Americans may see affordable rents as a more urban problem, finding and affording rental housing in rural areas has also been a long-term challenge, which the USDA sought to mitigate with incentivized loan programs like Section 515.

By offering below-market interest rates, Section 515 attracted private and nonprofit developers to "build and manage residential housing for low-income residents in small towns and rural counties," An explains. "Since its inception, the program has supported the construction of over 533,000 apartments, townhouses and other small, multifamily rental homes."

In 2011, the USDA stopped issuing Section 515 loans, which means the majority of properties built with Section 515 financing will mature by 2045. Once a Section 515 property is paid off, its owners can set their own rents, sell the property or end current home leases. An adds, "Because of this flexibility, a large share of rural affordable housing units could soon be converted to properties rented at market rates."

Rentals owned by nonprofits are the least likely to convert low-rent to market-rate rent. An writes, "Nonprofit-owned buildings. . . are 30% to 40% less likely to convert formerly Section 515 affordable housing into market-rate properties after the owners pay off their loans."

Washington lawmakers are working to address the gradual end to rural housing support through Section 515 rentals. The bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act serves as an example. An explains, "It would modernize USDA rural housing programs and allow certain rental assistance contracts to continue after mortgages mature. As of early 2026, the bill remains under consideration."

Heirs' property can leave family members with 'tangled titles' that limit wealth and contribute to rural housing shortages

A home, right, Rural Studio helped build on heirs’ property 
in Ala. (Photo by Timothy Hursley, Auburn University, CC BY-SA)

Imagine being born into a family that had settled land and passed it down from generation to generation for the past few decades. “Several of your relatives already live on the land, and you’d like to do the same, but you can’t get a loan to build or renovate a home without permission from all the relatives who also share ownership,” write Jennifer Pindyck, Christian Ayala Lopez and Rusty Smith for The Conversation. “At any moment, another heir could sell their share, triggering a court-ordered sale that could force you off the land.”

This shared ownership is an example of “heirs’ property: land passed down informally, without clear wills or deeds, which results in a ‘tangled’ or ‘clouded’ title,” researchers Pindyck, Lopez and Smith explain. “It’s more common than you might think in the U.S., especially in rural areas, and it presents significant challenges to long-term housing stability.”

Historically, property owners would leave their lands without “clear will or deed” because their region lacked legal services or the original owners didn’t trust the legal system. “Once the land is passed down to the next generation, the heirs are known as ‘tenants in common,’ meaning they own an undivided interest in the entire property,” they write, “As the property continues to pass down from generation to generation, the number of tenants in common increases exponentially.”

When a couple passes down land to their children – and then those people pass it down to their kids – the number of heirs dramatically increases. (Illustration by Auburn University, CC BY-SA)

After decades of sharing, property ownership can become a complex arrangement that opens all its tenants to potential homelessness. “Any tenant in common can sell their share to an outside party. These outside parties – either individuals or companies – can then request a court to order what’s called a partition by sale, which can push every other owner off the land,” Pindyck, Lopez and Smith explain. Some family members have sold their share of a property to real estate developers, unaware that their sale could trigger the loss of the entire estate.

Several organizations are working on heirs’ property resolutions, which can include “clearing titles, establishing shared land agreements and teaching landowners how to avoid having their property fall into a tangled title situation,” Pindyck, Lopez and Smith write. “The Florida Housing Coalition, Housing Assistance Council and the Alabama Heirs Property Alliance are actively engaged in community education, legal support, data mapping and policy advocacy.”

The Rural Studio assists heirs’ property tenants by using a “build first strategy,” they write. “Using funds from research grants and donations, we simply start building on heirs’ properties with the permission of families. In the process, we show that if tangled titles were no longer an obstacle, much more housing could be built. . . . One of our recent Rural Studio projects is the 18x18 House, a compact, multistory home built for a young man living on heirs’ property in Alabama.”

Pindyck, Lopez and Smith are Auburn University researchers and Rural Studio collaborators who study heirs’ property and “its role in shaping housing access. Based in Hale County, Alabama, Rural Studio has completed more than 200 projects – many of them homes built on heirs’ property – providing critical housing for families facing complex land ownership challenges.” 

Rural homeownership history includes Sears catalog homes. Thousands still stand today.

Modern reproduction of Sears catalog house in Battle Ground,
Indiana. (Photo by Rosemary Thornton, Wikimedia via the Yonder)

Beginning in the early 1900s, many rural Americans built their homes with construction kits from Sears, the former catalog sales giant. "Between 1908 and 1942, Sears sold some 70,000 customizable home kits across the country through the company’s Modern Home catalog," reports Pat Raia of The Daily Yonder.

Sears kit homes were particularly popular in the Midwest, including "Illinois, Ohio and Missouri, and almost all of them were located in rural or suburban areas," Raia writes. While the build-your-own-home kit appealed to consumers who wanted to save on labor costs, purchasing everything from one source was especially convenient for rural customers who could live long distances from construction suppliers.

The Sears catalog offered kits that included "a sketch of the house, a floor plan, and a basic cost that ranged from $360 to more than $2,000," Raia writes. Once purchased, Sears would send an initial "boxcar containing pieces to get the kit home buyer started. Subsequent deliveries would contain materials for each remaining phase of the construction."

The kits served a dual economic function, providing a path for homeownership and boosting the local economies. Sears Homes Chicagoland blogger Lara Solonickne told Raia, "Many customers had help building the houses from local carpenters and other tradesmen. By the early 1930s, few customers were building the homes by themselves."

Despite being built in stages by people with varying degrees of home construction expertise, many Sears-kit homes are still standing. Raia adds, "Judith Chabot, a researcher who authenticates Sears kit homes, said that there are more than 18,668 on the National List of Sears kit homes still standing around the U.S., and there are likely even more."

While kit-built homes may lack some conveniences newer homes offer, today's purchasers choose them for their unique history and sound construction.

Rural housing support is on the chopping block. Proposal would cut billions from programs rural residents use.

The proposed budget would cut many USDA housing
programs that help rural Americans. (Adobe photo)

 

President Trump's newly released federal budget proposal cuts billions from rural housing support programs. "If adopted by Congress, key Department of Agriculture rural development and housing programs would be completely eliminated," reports Joe Belden for The Daily Yonder. "Major Housing and Urban Development programs that are important in rural areas also would get zero dollars next year, and many social safety net programs would be cut."

Similar cuts were suggested and rejected during Trump's first term, but this Congress may think differently.

The new budget ends funding for the 502 loan program, which has existed since the 1950s, and has helped "2.2 million low-income rural families to become homeowners," Belden writes.

Trump's 2026 budget cuts billions in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development disbursements by ending financial support for Community Development Block Grants and the HOME program, which "were used extensively in rural areas and small cities," Belden reports. "One of the federal government’s most important and largest social safety net programs, tenant-based rental assistance, would be cut by $26.7 billion."

Other proposed cuts that could impact rural communities include the end of the Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program, zero funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund’s discretionary grants and the elimination of the Community Services Block Grant program.

Along with cuts, the proposed budget has a silver lining, which "says that it furthers investment in rural communities by creating a new $100 million award program that would provide access to affordable financing and spur economic development in rural America," Belden explains. "This new program would require 60% of Community Development Financial Institutions’ loans and investments to go to rural areas."

Congress will decide during its budgetary process how to act on the president's budget proposal. 

Building housing on federal lands could help some Americans, but the idea faces limits and obstacles

Most federal lands are located in the West. Map includes Native American lands held in trust.
(Bureau of Land Management map via Wikipedia)

Many Americans continue to struggle with the country's longstanding shortage of affordable housing. Opening some federal lands to real estate development is one solution the Trump administration has put in motion; however, the prospect faces numerous challenges and is limited by the geography of federal lands.

"Last month, federal officials created a task force that would identify and release federal land that could be used for housing development," reports Madeleine Ngo of The New York Times. The initiative has bipartisan support and could be particularly helpful for western states. The idea is not a solution for states that don't have swaths of federal lands, which tend to be east of the Mississippi.

The obstacles developers face include a lack of existing infrastructure, such as water and sewer, and resistance from environmental groups that want federal lands protected against human intrusion. Also, some western residents dislike the idea of more neighbors and work against development.

The concept could provide thousands of homes in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho and Colorado. Ngo explains, "Some analyses have found that releasing more federal land could result in the construction of millions of new homes. Selling about 544,000 acres of developable land — or about 0.2 percent of the land that the Bureau of Land Management oversees — could result in the construction of 1.5 million new homes on land near existing cities over the next decade."

Even with bipartisan support, the process of moving the idea from a concept to active development could be slow and doesn't address the problem in the eastern half of the country. "Releasing federal land could take years because of stringent procedures, and the federal effort alone would not be enough to make up the nation’s entire shortfall of homes," Ngo reports. "Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant, has estimated that the nation is short about 3.7 million housing units."

Even with its limitations, some builders are enthusiastic about the possibilities. Ngo adds, "Dan Dunmoyer, the president of the California Building Industry Association, said the biggest challenge facing homebuilders in the state was a shortage of land that was both affordable and suitable for housing development." He told her, “Land is hard to find. If there is land that’s adjacent to urban cores that’s available, that would be of interest to us.”

In flood-torn Appalachia, building or rebuilding housing is a complex problem with a long history

Percentage of renters considered housing cost-burdened.
(The Conversation map, from U.S. Census 2023 data)

As parts of Appalachia are left ravaged by more than one “thousand-year flood," residents remain in their communities, but many people still can't find housing or rebuild, writes Kristina P. Brant for The Conversation. "The floods have highlighted the resilience of local people to work together for collective survival in rural Appalachia. But they have also exposed the deep vulnerability of communities, many of which are located along creeks at the base of hills and mountains with poor emergency warning systems."

Persistent poverty, a lack of decent housing and a history of unequal land ownership leave many Appalachian residents with few options when faced with a natural disaster. Brant explains, "When I first moved to eastern Kentucky in 2016, I was struck by the grave lack of affordable, quality housing. I met families paying $200-$300 a month for a small plot to put a mobile home. Others lived in 'found housing' – often-distressed properties owned by family members."

Eastern Kentucky’s 2021 and 2022 floods "turned this into a full-blown housing crisis, with 9,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the 2022 flood alone," Brant writes. "With a dearth of affordable rentals pre-flood, renters who lost their homes had no place to go. And those living in 'found housing' were not eligible for federal support for rebuilding."

Corporations own large tracts of Appalachian land that could be used for housing, but the property remains undeveloped. Other large parcels are "owned by families with deep roots in the region. People’s attachment to a place often makes them want to stay in their communities, even after disasters," Brant adds. "But it can also limit the amount of land available for rebuilding. People are often hesitant to sell land that holds deep significance for their families, even if they are not living there themselves."

Even after major government funding was secured to rebuild on "higher ground" after the 2022 flood the extreme housing shortage continues. Brandt writes, "When I conducted interviews during the summer and fall of 2024, many of the mobile home communities that were decimated in the 2022 flood had begun to fill back up. These were flood-risk areas, but there was simply no other place to go."

Three ways the new administration could help rural America meet its challenges

Helping younger farmers helps local land stay
locally owned. (Abobe Stock photo)

Seeking a voice and change small-town America needs, many rural voters rallied for President Donald Trump to return to the White House. Now that he's back in the Oval Office, there are three ways his administration could work with Congress to help rural America face its challenges, write Randolph Hubach and Cody Mullen for The Conversation.

Health care is a good place to start.
Rural Americans are more likely to receive Medicaid or Medicare health care coverage and more vulnerable to negative impacts from policy or funding changes. "Funding from those federal programs affects rural hospitals, and rural hospitals are struggling," Hubach and Mullen explain. "Nearly half of rural hospitals operate in the red today, and over 170 rural hospitals have closed since 2010."

They recommend government funding continue for the Low-volume Hospital Adjustment Act and the rural emergency hospital model because both programs address rural health care providers' financial needs. Additional support and expansion of rural telehealth services is also needed.

Help small towns address affordable housing.
Like much of the country, rural communities lack affordable housing. To help small towns create housing solutions, the new administration should support the "bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which calls for creating a new federal tax credit to spur the development and renovation of family housing in distressed urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods," Hubach and Mullen add. "The Section 502 Direct Loan Program through the Department of Agriculture could be expanded with additional funding to enable more people to receive subsidized mortgages."

Keep local lands locally owned.
Rural businesses and landowners tend to care about the communities they call home. Congress could support rural land ownership through the "proposed Farm Transitions Act [that] would establish a commission on farm transitions to study issues that affect locally owned farms and provide recommendations to help transition agricultural operations to the next generation of farmers and ranchers," Hubach and Mullen add.

The Trump administration also could continue assistance for young farmers. "About 30% of farmers have been in business for less than 10 years, and many of them rent the land they farm," they write. "Programs such as USDA’s farm loan programs and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program help support local land purchases and could be improved to identify and eliminate barriers that communities face."

Construction and agriculture industries 'brace' for potential changes to U.S. immigration and tariff policies

Several U.S. sectors are preparing for imminent changes the transition to a Republican president and Congress promise to bring. Stories focused on upcoming changes are excerpted below.

Undocumented workers make up roughly 13%
of the construction industry. (Adobe Stock photo)

President-elect Donald Trump's planned immigration crackdown and tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will hit the housing market with a "one-two punch," report Elizabeth Findell and Gina Heeb of The Wall Street Journal. "In Texas, California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, immigrants make up more than half of construction trade workers. . . Undocumented workers make up an estimated 13% of the construction industry." Beyond the possible loss of skilled trade workers, "the president-elect’s proposed tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico could increase the cost of construction materials."

Once Trump and a solidly Republican Congress are back at work, health officials anticipate the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion will be "back on the chopping block," reports Phil Galewitz of KFF Health News. "More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility." Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia all have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding changes.

In 2023, the United States exported 17.83 metric tons
of wheat, worth $6.08 billion. (Adobe Stock photo)

Farmers and meat plants are "bracing" for immigration changes, including possible mass deportations of some current workers, reports Patick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "America’s food-supply chain relies on a predominantly immigrant workforce for some of its most challenging jobs. . . . About two-thirds of U.S. crop-farm workers are foreign-born, and 42% aren’t legally authorized to work in the country, according to a Labor Department report. . . . Having a smaller pool of workers would likely prompt companies to raise wages, but that could result in higher food prices."

If the Trump administration makes good on its promise to levy tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, a trade war is likely; however, the administration may no longer have free rein to tap into the Agriculture Department's discretionary spending to buffer farm losses. "A bipartisan cohort of lawmakers want to rein in a pot of money Trump’s first administration used to compensate farmers decimated by the then-president’s trade confrontation with China," reports Skye Witley of Bloomberg News. "A farm bill package that would require congressional approval of certain Agriculture Department discretionary spending supporting the farm economy" was championed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and House Agriculture Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.)

Brooke Rollins in 2021
(Wikipedia photo)

While many of the incoming administration's actions were anticipated, Trump surprised some lawmakers and agriculture groups when he nominated Brooke Rollins as his Agriculture secretary. "Trump’s decision to tap her came amid bitter infighting over the role among his advisers, family members and powerful agriculture groups, report Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill of Politico. "Rollins, who grew up on a farm, has less experience in agriculture policy than those on Trump’s shortlist. Rollins is from Texas and has a degree in agricultural development. While some GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill were surprised by the pick, she’s expected to have a fairly smooth Senate confirmation."

Some inflated costs may be going down, but weary Americans can't control the prices of many necessities

When U.S. families sit down to do the budget, some costs
aren't negotiable. (Adobe Stock photo)

As U.S. inflation slowly tracks downward, some painful increases remain difficult for Americans to afford. "Prices for many of the things that are hard to do without are still posting eye-watering increases. Rent and electricity bills are up 10% or more over the past two years, and car-insurance costs are up nearly 40%, according to the Labor Department’s index," report Hariett Torry and Terell Wright of The Wall Street Journal. "Shoppers might be able to trade down from prime steak to cheaper cuts of meat at the supermarket, but they can’t really do the same thing with the water bill."

While some citizens have made grocery store swaps, some have cut "luxuries" such as eating out or trimming kids' extracurricular activities. Still, Americans have costs such as housing, insurance and child care that are at historical highs but are also necessities. "In the Consumer Price Index, shelter costs — a measure of rent and the equivalent cost to homeowners, as well as lodging away from home and household insurance — have risen more than 13% in two years," Torry and Wright explain. "Child care costs have risen 6.4% over the past two years. . . . Because daycare bills can be as big as rent or a mortgage, even a relatively small increase can feel like a lot."

Getting to work to make money often means car ownership and the overhead that goes with it. "The cost of transportation services, which includes vehicle insurance and repair, has jumped more than 18% in the past two years, according to the CPI," the Journal reports. "An increasing number of cash-strapped Americans are choosing to drive without car insurance."

Single mom Jasmine Moore's experiences mirror that of many American workers. "Moore missed a payment on her auto insurance about six months ago. Now her monthly bill has doubled," Torry and Wright add. "She canceled her son’s math tutoring sessions and instead tutors him herself. Instead of Publix, she opts for discount grocery stores and food pantries." Moore told the Journal, "I have middle-class pay, but I feel like I’m lower income.”

Kentucky's Appalachian counties getting $297.6 million for post-flood recovery housing

State funds are being used for road and utility work at the new high-ground development in Knott County called Chestnut Ridge. (Photo by Zack Hall, Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky)

By Jenni Glendenning
Institute for Rural Journalism, University of Kentucky

Matt Sawyers has $298 million to spend.

Sawyers, a native of southeastern Kentucky, is commissioner of the state Department for Local Government. That puts him in a position to help make a difference in his home region as he helps his boss, Gov. Andy Beshear, decide where to put the $297.6 million the state has in a federal community development block grant for recovery from the 2022 floods.

Sawyers described it as “a tremendous opportunity for so many generations of eastern Kentuckians that are invested in the success of the region and understand the challenges that have been faced by the collapse of the coal economy, and before that, timber.”

The state has received 10 applications for infrastructure for housing projects to help southeastern Kentucky recover from the 2022 floods.  At least two are “high ground” communities above floodplains and one “is very close to being awarded,” Sawyers said.

The first deadline for infrastructure for housing projects was July 1, but the state is still taking applications, and has until February 2030 to spend the money.

Matt Sawyers, commissioner, Department for Local
Government (Photo by Al Cross)

Housing projects using disaster-recovery funding must serve low- to moderate-income households, and such households must be the majority of those served by infrastructure projects.

The governor is the ultimate decision-maker on recovery grants, but the process involves local governments and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, so “There aren't necessarily a ton of decisions that need to be made,” Sawyers said. “We have the money that was allocated to us by HUD, and we want to spend the money.”

Sawyers said his and Beshear’s “main, only, sole driving purpose is to bring people up out of the floodplain, fulfill the governor's commitment to Eastern Kentucky that we're not going to leave one person behind. This is a long-term recovery process and we're going to get them to safety and put them back at home.”

The state got a head start because it had some money left from the $123 million it got from HUD for recovery from 2021 flooding. Logan Fogle, the DLG’s chief information officer, said most of that was used in western Kentucky, but some is being used in Letcher, Floyd, and Breathitt counties because they were eligible for both 2021 and 2022 funding.

For example, in Prestonsburg, $8 million is being used to build 33 new homes and rehabilitate a vacant home in the New Hope neighborhood.

Breathitt and Letcher counties are two of the five that the federal government has identified as being hurt most by the 2022 floods. The others are Perry, Knott and Pike. At least 80% of the recovery money must go to those five counties.

In Letcher County, $8.7 million in 2022 recovery money will be used to build 29 homes in Seco and Uz, and install infrastructure to support the new homes.

In Jackson, $2.3 million will be used to build eight homes for flood survivors and $1.5 million is allocated for water and sewer projects for future housing projects in Breathitt County.

In Knott County, state funds are being used to build  new roads and lay water and sewer pipes in the new high-ground development called Chestnut Ridge.

The other counties eligible for federal disaster-recovery money are Casey, Clay, Cumberland, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Lee, Leslie, Lincoln, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Powell, Whitley and Wolfe.

Sawyers said the DLG works with local governments and supporting entities to develop their applications, and with HUD and the state Public Protection Cabinet, the Transportation Cabinet, and the Energy and Environment Cabinet, which is taking the lead on much of the planning for high-ground projects.

For decades, people in eastern Kentucky have wanted to see housing development on reclaimed strip mines. The flood and increased public pressure sparked some companies, families and individuals to begin making reclaimed land available for development.

Sawyers said that’s finally happening because of the tremendous investment being made in recovery by government and philanthropy. “We probably have a confluence of events” in developing entire new communities out of the floodplain,” he said.

A few wealthy Kentuckians and non-profit organizations have donated land or money for some of the housing projects. Sawyers says their team is “fully supportive of every resource that anyone can provide to fulfill the governor's promise to get people out of the floodplain, rebuild homes for them, and keep people in eastern Kentucky.”

Sawyers is a Lexington resident, but much of his family still lives in Clay, Laurel, and Perry counties. He said there is a cultural element to where people want to live, and many if not most of those uprooted by the flooding want to stay in their home areas, but on higher ground.

The state’s HUD-approved plan calls for $90 million to be spent on new single-family housing, which includes incentives to developers and assistance to qualified homebuyers; $25 million on owner-occupied rehabilitation or reconstruction, in grants up to $50,000 and up to $50,000 more in forgivable loans; $10 million in incentives to developers and builders for new multifamily housing, $5 million for rehabilitation or reconstruction of rental properties of seven units or less; and $134 million for infrastructure and related activities, including roads, bridges, drainage, publicly owned utility lines, and broadband for housing projects.

Also, $11 million is allocated for purchase of properties, $3 million in housing counseling and legal aid, $3 million in small-business grants, $1.5 million for resilience planning, and $15 million for administration of the program.

Jenni Glendenning, a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky, is the David Hawpe Fellow in Appalachian Reporting at UK’s Institute for Rural Journalism. Reach her at Jennifer.Glendenning@uky.edu.

Hope rises: Housing developments are underway in Eastern Kentucky as communities rebuild after major flooding

Jenni Glendenning

By Jenni Glendenning
Institute for Rural Journalism, University of Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky’s recovery from the devastating floods of 2022 passed a significant, heartwarming milestone on Wednesday, June 5, as Melissa Neace got the keys to her new home.

Neace, of Perry County, is the 100th flood survivor to get a home built or rehabilitated by the Hazard-based Housing Development Alliance, one of several nonprofits working with state and local officials not only to rebuild for flood victims, but to address the region’s chronic shortage of housing and land available for it.

The effort has turned adversity into hope for scores of families in the region; more than 600 new homesites have been laid out, and many more are expected in the next few years with an influx of $298 million in federal disaster-relief money this year.

People involved in providing the Neace family a new home pose on its porch in Perry County’s
Blue Sky subdivision. Melissa Neace stands between the central porch pole and Gov. Andy Beshear.

“Today's celebration marks not the end but the dawn of a new chapter filled with promise and progress,” Scott McReynolds, head of HDA, which has built homes in Breathitt, Knott, Perry and Leslie counties for more than 30 years.

And not only government money is at work. “We've had hundreds of volunteers who have come out and swung a hammer, shoveled mud, whatever needed to be done,” McReynolds said. “We've had a lot of volunteers in the community that participated in case management, and the long-term recovery communities, and distribution centers.”

The outpouring of generosity extended far beyond local boundaries, McReynolds said during an event at Neace’s home in the Blue Sky subdivision next to the Wendell H. Ford Regional Airport. With donations pouring in from individuals, organizations, and even unexpected sources “like antique car clubs and Elvis impersonators,” from humble $5 contributions to substantial donations reaching $500,000.

HDA received $2.5 million from the state Rural Housing Trust Fund to build Neace’s home and 23 others, as well as to repair and renovate 16 existing homes. Other funding sources enabled it to rehabilitate about 60 more. All told, it and other agencies have built 63 new homes and rehabilitated 270, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.

Much of that work was done with federal and state emergency funds. More housing announcements are expected after July 1, the deadline for applying for $298 million in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funds.

At Wednesday’s event, Beshear said the vision for housing in the region extends beyond individual homes to the creation of whole new neighborhoods such as Sky View, east of Hazard, and Chestnut Ridge in Knott County.

This fall, he said, “We're going to see houses coming up on Sky View. The possibility between all the available land is for over 300 homes. We could have 1,000 people eventually living in that community. That is not just a response, that is a solution – both to what happened and to the housing crunch and crisis that we face around Kentucky.”

Hazard Mayor “Happy” Mobelini said at the event that he believes “Perry County is better today than it was before the flood happened.”

Neace, who is orignally from Jackson, received the keys to her home with her daughters Rachel, 18, and Beth, 16, and their Husky, Nuka. They lived for 20 months in a trailer provided with emergency funds.

“I’m excited to get out of the camper but grateful to have had it because I would have been homeless if I didn’t,” said Neace, who is disabled with lupus and unable to work. “We’ve been in a small place for so long, it’s going to be great cooking meals in this big kitchen.” The girls said they were looking forward to having their own rooms and their own beds.

Blue Sky is a private development that began development before the floods, on reclaimed strip-mine land. HDA bought 12 lots to build homes for flood survivors.

Here’s a rundown of other projects, generally in the order that homes are likely to be occupied:

The Cottages at Thompson Branch in Whitesburg (Letcher County) was the first high-ground site to be developed after the floods. Two of 10 homes for survivors have been completed by Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service (HOMES Inc.).

In Wayland (Floyd County), the Appalachia Service Project, which uses volunteer labor, is completing its 11th home for flood survivors on 4 acres the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky bought from the Wayland Volunteer Fire Department for $200,000. Families are preparing to move in this month.

In Prestonsburg (Floyd County), the state Department for Local Government and Mountain Housing Corp. of Prestonsburg will use a federal community development block grant build 33 new homes, and rehab one house, for flood survivors. Groundbreaking on New Hope Estates is expected this summer.

The largest project in the works is Chestnut Ridge, to be built in two phases on former coal property. The state first acquired 100 acres to build 147 homes, but construction will start first on 57 homes on 27 acres adjacent to the state land. Western Pocahontas Properties, a natural-resources company, donated the property, and Joe and Kelly Craft donated $4 million to the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky to start construction.

“We got started a little bit before the state did and we've had some private money, so we've been able to go ahead and get started building on this first section,” said Gerry Roll, the foundation’s founder in residence. She said the two developments are “staying coordinated on power and broadband and the main road” that is being built to the area.

These first 57 homes will be built and funded through public and private partnerships of HOMES Inc., HDA, the Appalachia Service Project and Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization.

Three other developments have master plans in the works, said Logan Fogle, spokesman for the Department for Local Government.

The first phase of Sky View would have up to 102 homes on 50 acres donated by the Ison family. Geotechnical and environmental reviews are complete, and an access road is under construction. Another 375 acres, in the next three phases, would have 300 to 350 housing sites.

Olive Branch, in Knott County near the Perry County line, has a plan for 132 homes on approximately 77 acres donated by Shawn and Tammy Adams. The Right-of-way plans are in development for the initial access road.

Grand View in Jenkins includes up to 116 homes on 92 acres donated by the Johnson family. An environmental review is underway, and funding applications for water and sewer lines are being submitted.

Also in Letcher County, the county government has outlined a comprehensive plan, allocating $8.7 million to build 29 homes in Seco and Uz. This includes the necessary infrastructure such as roads, water, sewer, and electricity.

In Breathitt County, the City of Jackson is using $2.36 million to build eight homes for flood survivors. Beshear said Thursday that FAHE, formerly the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, hopes to break ground “in the next 30 days.”

In addition to the new communities, the state’s Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund has partnered with HOMES Inc., the Housing Development Alliance, and Partnership Housing of Booneville to build 19 homes in Breathitt, Floyd, Knott, Letcher, Martin, and Perry counties, providing over $1.4 million in relief.

To the west, in Laurel County, Clayton Homes and Beshear broke ground in May on Redbud Estates in London, featuring 51 energy-efficient CrossMod® homes eligible for conventional financing programs. This type of construction, manufactured homes completed on site, could offer housing solutions for other regional developments due to the off-site construction processes and their energy efficiency.

What about rental housing, which can’t get emergency funds? The forthcoming $298 million in federal community development block grant disaster funds for 2022, can be used to build rental housing. The DLG and the state’s Kentucky Housing Corp. used a coordinated application process for $59.7 million in CDBG money for Western Kentucky tornado victims, and on June 3 announced $233 million in financing for 953 rental units in four counties.

The agencies plan to use the same approach for Eastern Kentucky, but Beshear cautioned that it will be more difficult in the east due to the region’s lack of land available for development and the lack of income to support market-priced housing. Also, apartment living is not as common in the east as it is in the west.

“People like to own the land, and it is a very important part of our history and culture because families are tied to the land, and apartment living has not been historically feasible or realistic in our area,” Roll said. “I wouldn't say people are opposed to it, as much as it's just a foreign concept, it's not something that people are accustomed to.”

There is not a lot of flat land in the region that has not been mined, making big apartment complexes unrealistic, Roll said. In addition to topography, income levels in the region often fall short of the rent needed to cover the costs of development and maintenance, making it almost impossible to maintain fair market rents.

Zack Hall, community engagement officer at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, does believe there is a market and a need for apartment rentals in Hazard. “I'm in the 20-to-30 age group of young professionals and know of people my age who want to move back to the area but aren’t ready to buy a house yet, but there aren’t apartments available.” he said.

Pam Johnson, FAHE’s executive vice president of business development and outreach, like Roll, feels like apartment living “isn’t within the culture of the region” and feels that it would “lean more into duplexes and triplexes” when considering multifamily rentals.

Jenni Glendenning, a Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky, is the David Hawpe Fellow in Appalachian Reporting for UK's Institute for Rural Journalism. Reach her at jenni.glendenning@uky.edu.

Journalists can help their audience avoid purchasing or renting real estate with environmental problems

House in Bethel, Vermont, severely damaged by Hurricane
Irene. (USFWS from Flickr Creative Commons via SEJ)

Purchasing a home or renting a place with environmental concerns can be financially, physically and emotionally harmful. Journalists can help their readers and listeners avoid these problems by focusing stories on real estate risks. State and local governments require disclosure of some of those risks before a sale, but others, such as flood risks, may fall outside government oversight, reports Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Not all home sellers and agents will disclose dangers or flaws unless compelled to. "Sellers will play up features like schools, shopping, transit, restaurants and so on. Drinking water problems? Not so much," Davis writes. "What some consumer advocates miss is how many environmental risks come with real estate purchases."

Davis provides a list of story ideas to consider as your audience heads into prime real estate sales and moving season. A limited number of his ideas are edited and shared below. For the full list, click here.

Disclosure requirements: Every state has different requirements. Find out yours at SOLD.com, a nationwide real estate business.

Home inspectors: Whatever the legal environment near you, professional home inspectors know about it. Find them in your locality. Some may talk to you.

Lead paint: Federal law requires disclosure of lead paint risks in real estate sales. However, the question of whether the risks have been adequately mitigated can be tricky and subjective.

Flood risk/history: Federal law does not require disclosure, but some 29 states do. Find out if your state is one of them. People anywhere can find out if a property lies in the Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated flood plain.

Lead in water: Lead service lines are common in older houses in many U.S. cities. Remember Flint? Only a few states require disclosure.

What's in the drinking water: Some communities have contaminants in their source water and even in their treated drinking water. This is true of private wells, too. Home sellers are not required to disclose this, but the law does require utilities to disclose what's in their treated water. Ask for your utility's Consumer Confidence Report.

Carbon monoxide: If a building is heated with gas or oil (or, rarely, other combustibles), toxic carbon monoxide may be released into the living space. Tuning or replacing the furnace may be in order. CO detectors are rarely required but are inexpensive and available.

Dam safety: Most dams are safe. But if a building is downstream of a large or old dam, check on the risks. Start with the National Inventory of Dams. If a nearby dam is rated "high" or "medium" hazard, there may be issues. What you really want is the inundation map for the dam (if it is accurate and available).

In Montana, the cost of living and lack of affordable housing and child care contribute to growing workforce shortages

Rural Montana is a 'canary in the coal mine' for severe 
 labor shortages in needed sectors. (N. Fouriezos photo)

Across the country, the need for a younger workforce to fill a wide range of positions is reaching a critical point, but particularly for rural areas. Students and potential workers face a range of obstacles that prevent them from filing those roles, reports Nick Fouriezos of The Daily Yonder. In Montana, medical, academic and labor professionals are working to address these issues.

Lindsey Flather from Bitterroot Valley, Montana, is the kind of student Montana's new strategies aim to help. Fouriezos writes, "A working mother in her thirties, Flather decided to pursue a new career in health care. . . . And she is urgently needed. In Montana, 52 of 56 counties — including Ravalli County — are considered medically underserved, and nearly half of the state’s nurses say they plan on retiring or leaving the profession in the next five years."

Like many of her fellow students, Flather has faced long commutes for classes, a lack of child care options, and juggling to make work and school mend together. "At the same time, employers are desperate to get more people through these workforce pipelines," Fouriezos explains. "They, too, are challenged by geography, says Rebecca Conroy, the chief transformational officer at Bitterroot Health, a regional hospital in western Montana."

Yet even when needed professionals, such as medical assistants, graduate they often can't afford to live in the county where they are needed most. "The median rent in Hamilton, Bitterroot Valley's biggest town, is now $2,087, up 30% over the previous year," Fouriezos reports. "The lack of affordable housing makes it almost impossible to recruit out-of-towners, and the in-town workforce is drying up. The talent pipeline is thin, Conroy says. And the pressure is only growing."

"Employers like Conroy are the canaries in the coal mine of a growing talent shortage nationwide. So smoothing the route to jobs like medical assisting has become a key focus of Montana’s government and educational infrastructure," Fouriezos writes. "The state’s colleges recently partnered with the national nonprofit Education Design Lab to interview Conroy and local business leaders statewide about how they might create new educational opportunities, like a set of micro-credentials to allow people to build key skills in shorter courses over time."

One alternative to the housing shortage crisis is to build really small homes and reduce costs

The view from the front entrance of a small home. 

(Photo by Ivan McClellan, The New York Times)

Once relegated to the world of socks, compression has come to the housing world. "Thanks to soaring housing prices, the era of the 400-square-foot subdivision house is upon us," reports Conor Dougherty of The New York Times. "This is not a colony of 'tiny houses,' popular among minimalists and aesthetes looking to simplify their lives. . . . It's a chance to hold on to ownership."

Ten years ago, the housing market was booming, making home ownership for a roomy 3-bedroom out of reach for many people. In response, "Home builders have methodically nipped their dwellings to keep prices in reach of buyers," Dougherty explains. "The downsizing accelerated last year when the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage reached a two-decade high, just shy of 8 percent."

The period of mega-square-foot homes might be giving way to the not-so-big house. "A move toward smaller, affordable homes — in some cases smaller than a studio apartment — seems poised to outlast the mortgage spike, reshaping the housing market for years to come and changing notions of what a middle-class life looks like," Dougherty writes. 

Some state and local governments are working to encourage the "great compression" by making construction more doable. "To reduce housing costs, or at least keep them from rising so fast, governments around the country have passed hundreds of new bills that make it easier for builders to erect smaller units at greater densities," Dougherty reports. "Some cities and states — like Oregon — have essentially banned single-family zoning rules.

The U.S. needs 7 million more houses, but who will build them? The construction industry needs trained laborers.

Photo by Arron Coi, Unsplash

As the construction industry struggles to meet the demand for new housing, it faces big obstacles, including a shortage of trained labor. Robbie Sequeira of Stateline reports, "The U.S. construction industry lost nearly 30% of its workforce during the Great Recession of 2008 and had barely recovered before the Covid-19 pandemic hit it again, as outlined by a study shared last spring by economists at the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin. . . . However, the authors attributed much of the shortage to the federal Secure Communities immigration crackdown of the Obama administration."

An estimated 7 million more homes are needed, so the industry must find more trained workers to meet demand. "Employment isn't growing fast enough, said Erika Walter, director of media relations for Associated Builders and Contractors, a national industry group," Sequiera writes. "An analysis released earlier this month by the group found that at the end of November, there were about 459,000 job openings in the industry. The 5.4% job opening rate was the highest since 2000."

To attract new labor, the industry needs to address its hiring practices. Sequeira reports, "According to a 2022 Department of Labor report, many apprentice programs for construction and trade-based skills often have sponsors who do not recruit or hire individuals from underrepresented groups — and may not even be aware of how to recruit members of those groups."

If recruitment and training shortages aren't managed, the shortage will intensify as aging workers retire. Sequiera notes, "More than 1 in 5 construction workers are 55 and older, and much of the workforce will be retiring in the coming decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics." Karl Eckhart, vice president of intergovernmental affairs for the National Association of Home Builders, told Sequiera, "We need to expedite the [recruitment and training] process so we can at least get shovels under the ground."

Several states are intervening to assist in training a new construction workforce, including Montana, New York, Ohio and Maryland. "Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine announced that 35 Ohio high school programs would receive almost $200 million in grant money to expand training facilities in areas including the electrical trades, welding and carpentry," Sequiera reports. 

It might be cheaper to rent a property in 2023; higher interest rates and a softer rental market explain why

The Economist graph, from
U.S. government data

For the first time in decades, renting a home or apartment in 2023 was cheaper than buying one. "The median rent in America's 50 largest metropolitan areas costs about $1,750, which is down nearly $30 from a year ago, according to new data from realtor.com, and it was the fifth such consecutive drop for up to two-bedroom homes," reports Omar Mohammed of Newsweek. "The rental market is seeing a softening partly due to more homes available for renters who are driving up the demand."

Historically, Americans have enjoyed mortgage payments that are less expensive than paying rent, but over the past two years, interest rates have soared "as the Federal Reserve has hiked rates to their highest levels in two decades to battle inflation, which spiked to a 40-year high at one point," Mohammed explains. "The jump in rates has pushed the borrowing costs for homes, making the prospect of buying a home unaffordable for Americans."

Looking at the dynamic change, The Economist reports, "Between 2011 and 2020, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical home was 12% lower than the rental for a similar property (assuming a deposit of 13%, the current national average). A steady rise in home values, worth roughly 7% a year over the past decade, also ensured that buyers built equity in their homes. . . . But now the choice between buying and renting looks different."

Mohammed writes: "Some housing economists are begging the Fed not to raise rates again to give some relief to the sector that counts for 16% of U.S. economic activity."

Rural housing report highlights the lack of affordable housing for many; renting is the most expensive

More than half of rural residents under age 35 rent.
(HAC graph, from Census Bureau data)

While rural residents are more likely to be homeowners, many don't own homes and struggle to find affordable housing to buy or rent. To gauge how the market is going, the Housing Assistance Council, better known as HAC, just released its "Taking Stock" report, which "uses data gathered over the last decade to paint a picture of the lives of the 60 million folks who call rural America home," reports Lia Kvatum of The Daily Yonder. "The report also includes historical data covering the last half century and beyond that shows how things have changed over the years — for better and worse."

The report shows the lack of affordable housing is a growing national problem, but it also looks at "trends and issues important to rural people, places, and housing." Kvatum adds, "The report lays bare some rather sobering statistics for small towns and rural areas in particular."

• One-quarter of all rural households spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. More than 40% of those are renters.
• Rural renters of color are the hardest hit.
• Housing costs have increased dramatically over the last few decades, and the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated the problem.
• The number of banks across rural America has decreased by half since 1995.

HAC's Director of Research and Information Lance George told Kvatum, "More than half of all FDIC-insured banks are actually located in rural areas. But . . . most lending activity is concentrated within a few, typically larger banks. Fewer banks just means less access or longer commutes to access these services."

The report examined the current rural housing rental market, which is already expensive, and predicted costs would continue to increase. "About a quarter of occupied rural homes are rentals. And the rental market can be tight because of a lack of affordable properties," Kvatum explains. 

Still, the news was not all bad. "Most rural Americans live in safe and affordable houses, as has been the case for many decades; most own their own homes," Kvatum reports. "There's been a steep drop in the number of households that don't have plumbing—in 1970, 14% did not have plumbing. By 2021, that number was less than 1%."

Multigenerational households are on the rise; finances and medical care are the top reasons why

Map by Alice Feng, Axios, from U.S. Census data

More people are choosing to live in multigenerational households to cope with financial stress and medical care, reports Brianna Crane of Axios. Multigenerational housing -- defined as three or more generations under one roof -- is concentrated in certain areas but is gaining in popularity. South Dakota is home to "half of the top 10 counties with the highest share of multigenerational households. . . .North Dakota and Nebraska have some of the lowest shares."

In 2020, there were "6 million multigenerational households in the United States in 2020, up from 5.1 million in 2010, according to census data," Crane adds. While the two biggest reasons people cited for cohabitating families were financial concerns and caregiving needs, there are also mental and physical benefits to living closer to family or friends.

Chart by Baidi Wang, Axios, from Pew Research Center data

No matter the reason, multigenerational homes are predicted to keep increasing. The number of such households has "quadrupled from 1971 to 2021," reports Nathan Bomey of Axios. "Population growth among people of color is a big reason for the increase as they are more likely than white Americans to live with extended family," according to a Pew Research Center study. D’Vera Cohn, one of the report's authors, told Bomey, "This is not a phenomenon that has peaked."

Berkshire Eagle, Seven Days, Vermont Standard, Nantucket paper big rural winners in New England newspaper awards

Slide from awards presentation

The Berkshire Eagle scored big in the New England Newspaper and Press Association awards, which were announced Thursday during the group's semiannual online conference.

The Eagle, of Pittsfield, Mass., was judged the best small daily (less than 9,000 print circulation), with The Keene Sentinel of New Hampshire and the Record Journal of Meriden, Conn., as runners-up. 

The Eagle was judged to have the best editorial, "chastising the Catholic diocese in western Massachusetts for trying to subpoena a reporter's notes which would reveal confidential sources" and calling on legislators to pass a shield law like most other states have to protect reporters. 

And the Eagle won two of NENPA's Publick Occurrences awards, named for America's first newspaper and honoring 13 pieces that were judged to be the best in New England journalism in the past year. The rural or rural-impact winners included the Eagle's reports on nursing homes and hazardous-materials shipments on trains that go through its region; projects by Seven Days of Burlington, Vermont, on child care and the pandemic's impact on housing in the largely rural state; the Lewiston Sun Journal's "Homeless in Maine" series; the Concord Monitor's series on police spending and policies all over New Hampshire; and CT Mirror's "Elder Care Reckoning" series that prompted reforms in Connecticut.

The best small weekly newspaper in New England was judged to be the Vermont Standard of Woodstock, with runners-up the Milton Times of Massachusetts and the St. Albans Messenger of Vermont. The best large weekly (over 4,000 circ.) was the Inquirer and Mirror of Nantucket, Mass.; runners-up were the Martha's Vineyard Times and sister papers in Maine, the Mt. Desert Islander of Bar Harbor the Ellsworth American. The best mid-size daily (circ. 9,000-20,000) was The Day of New London, Conn., with Massachusetts' Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton and the Greenfield Recorder runners-up. The Concord Monitor was judged best small Sunday paper.