Out of Reach?

The Granite State’s housing crisis has been called a human rights issue by some, a jobs issue by others and a basic supply-and-demand issue by many.

All of them are right.

With surging costs and low inventory in rentals, and a homebuying market that has seen homes going for triple their market value thanks in part to an influx of pandemic-related moves into the state from places like New York and Massachusetts, reliable housing in New Hampshire is no longer the affordable — and attainable — thing that it used to be.

But why? And what can we do about it? Those were two of the questions posed during a UNH Alumni Relations webinar in May, where a panel of alumni experts talked about causes of the housing crisis and the ripple effect it’s having on our state’s economy and well-being. The discussion was led by Michael Swack, director, Center for Impact Finance, Carsey School program faculty and research professor of economics at Paul College.

All agreed that the terms “affordable housing” and “workforce housing” can sometimes carry a stigma — and some confusion. Sarah Wrightsman ’15 ’17G, community engagement coordinator at New Hampshire Housing, said that much of her work is education around what is meant by those terms and working with community groups to get involved in finding solutions to the lack of housing in the Granite State.

Betsey Andrews Parker ’95, CEO of Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, said that, as housing costs continue to climb, the low- to middle-income-level residents are moving further into the state’s rural areas, where there is less access to grocery stores, fewer options for healthcare and little to no access to public transportation to larger cities where there are more employment opportunities.

Wrightsman said the question of housing comes down to “five Ls” — lumber, labor, land, loans and laws — that can each represent an impediment to housing development.

“We focus on the last L, laws — because that’s one of the few things we believe we as citizens can have control over,” said Wrightsman. Fellow panelist Antonio R. Serna ’22 ’23G, fiscal and social policy fellow, Carsey School of Public Policy, pointed out that while Massachusetts has some laws to mandate the creation of affordable housing, New Hampshire is much more lax in its approach.

Parker agrees on the local-level involvement.

“We encourage people to get involved on your planning board, your zoning board — that’s where the change happens,” she said.