affordable rural housing Archives

See how HAC partners with local organizations like WMCDC to overcome challenges and deliver affordable housing.

Helping rural communities is what we live for at the Housing Assistance Council (HAC.) Our team loves to make loans to local organizations building affordable housing. We get excited about posting data and publishing research on rural conditions. We are relentless advocates for public- and private-sector programs that bring good-quality homes to rural families. We are inspired by the thousands of local housing providers that come to trainings and call for one-on-one technical assistance. Walker Montgomery CDC Site Visit

One of our favorite examples of the last year comes from a local partner in New Waverly, Texas (pop. 914,) Launched nearly 25 years ago, Walker Montgomery Community Development Corporation (WMCDC) builds affordable housing in several Gulf Coast counties. Like most rural groups we know, they rely on local ingenuity to get things done. For instance, WMCDC helped address a construction workforce shortage in Southeast Texas by recruiting 40 participants a year into the Gulf Coast Trades Center’s YouthBuild program. These youth learn valuable professional skills while completing an average of 2 new homes per year.

Yet, it’s hard work building affordable housing through a YouthBuild program. There will be times when you need a partner to keep you going. So, when WMCDC hit more challenges with their labor supply and getting families ready to own a home, they asked HAC for help. The first thing we did is listen to WMCDC leaders discuss the challenges. Then together we explored options and planned how they could maintain production. With contacts around Walker and Montgomery counties, the CDC engaged a general contractor to fill in for the YouthBuild crews and HAC provided training in homebuyer recruitment to keep the pipeline of families ready and strong.

Through projects big and small, HAC brings to local partners the capacity they need to keep going. With your support, we can continue to help WMCDC and hundreds of other rural housing groups. Please join in this work that we love by making HAC a part of your year-end giving. Together, we will help rural communities build good homes and prosper.

We wish you—and everyone in #rural America—a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home. Happy Holidays from HAC!

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HAC was deeply honored by an invitation to testify at the first hearing held in the new 118^th Congress by the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Titled The State of Housing 2023, the session featured Lance George, HAC’s Director of Research and Information, as one of three witnesses.

A wide range of topics was covered by the witnesses’ testimony and the Senators’ questions. Among the key areas of concern were the gap between housing supply and need, the high cost of both homeownership and rental housing, and what congressional actions could address these challenges. Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) asked specifically about the loss of rentals financed by USDA’s Section 515 program, a serious concern addressed by HAC research in 2016 and 2022.

Key Takeaways

Lance’s statement made five key points about the state of rural housing in 2023:

The pandemic left its mark on rural America and housing markets remain uncertain.
Rural mortgage markets are being impacted by interest rates and prices too.
Affordability is the greatest housing challenge in rural America, by far.
Manufactured housing is an often overlooked but important source of housing – especially in rural America.
Race matters across the rural spectrum – especially in housing.

Key policy recommendations, based on HAC’s full set of policy priorities for 2023, included:

Increase rural communities’ access to credit and capital and strengthen USDA and HUD homeownership supports.
Improve opportunities and financing for preserving aging rental properties and protecting tenants.
Authorize the powerful Rural Community Development Initiative and a significant cross-sectoral, flexible capacity building rural investment initiative.

Read Lance’s Statement

Lance George

HAC’s Director of Research & Information

Tag Archive for: affordable rural housing

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See how HAC partners with local organizations like WMCDC to overcome challenges and deliver affordable housing.

HAC’s Research Director Testifies to Senate Banking Committee on the State of Housing 2023

Key Takeaways

Lance George

Watch the Hearing

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50 Years for Rural America