ERLANGER, Ky. — Ray Hopkins knows what the data shows.
“There’s not a lot of housing for people who are looking for it, and people that do own housing are somewhat tight as far as selling it right now because of what they could replace their current home with,” he said.
To get more information on the market’s challenge, the Northern Kentucky homeowner showed up to a community conversation in Erlanger on Tuesday.
Local nonprofits are soliciting ideas for solutions to address what a regional housing data study laid out last fall: workforce job-creation is outpacing housing availability, “putting strain on residents and employers.”
The study was years in the making and reviewed Kentucky's eight northernmost counties: Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton.
“Communities need to plan for an additional 6,650 housing units [in the next five years] on top of new developments already in progress or planned,” the study determined.
Those units break down to:
- 3,260 aligned with an income range of $15-25/hour (monthly housing costs between $500 and 1,500)
- 500 units aligned with very low-income households (monthly housing costs below $320)
- 4,220 units should be one- or two-bedroom
Residents can provide their experience and feedback here.
“We need really high-end, we need starter ... everything in between,” said Tara Johnson-Noem, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, which produced the study in conjunction with community partners.
She said previous data sets were statewide or national. It didn’t provide the level of insight necessary to support the region’s growth.
“We’re hoping the data gives people a real look at what’s happening locally,” she said.
Johnson-Noem said there’s a need for a shift away from traditional three- or four-bedroom single-family homes, citing new professionals moving to the area who “may not want to buy right away. They may want to get to know our area.”
She said the recommendation of additional units is not an unachievable number.
“There’s maybe not just one story that’s coming out of this,” Johnson-Noem said.
Now that regional government leaders have the data, they have to decide what to do with it. The community engagement being done Tuesday will help support the factual data with anecdotal evidence.
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said he’s reviewing his county’s policies to make sure they “encourage solving the problem we have.”
“Make sure that we are easy to work with developers and builders to make sure that they can build what the market demands,” he said.
For Knochelmann, it’s particularly about making sure a place to live is financially attainable for individuals who serve in the community, such as teachers and first responders.
The study found that at a school teacher’s median wage of $43,740 per year, only 26% of the rentals and 16% of the for-sale housing is affordable.
Knochelmann said having facts like that to work from was one of the drivers of putting the study together.
“The good news … about Northern Kentucky is our growth is not so crazy that you can’t manage it,” he said.
For Johnson-Noem, it’s about making sure all areas of Northern Kentucky’s “very robust” economy are being maintained.
“Housing is the infrastructure that allows our workforce to be really strong and be able to show up for work every day,” she said. “The workforce is what leads to that strong economic development”
The Brighton Center will host the final public walk-through of the data on Sept. 5 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Pendleton County Library in Falmouth.
