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FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2026) — Kentucky lawmakers on Thursday posed questions to business advocates who offered testimony on housing challenges across the state.
During an Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment meeting, two officials from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce gave the legislators an overview about the housing shortage they say threatens economic development.
According to the chamber’s presentation, the number of newly built homes declined after the Great Recession, leading to an imbalance between supply and demand. The shortage is approximately 200,000 units.
“Not surprising, this is about the economy. This is about economic development,” said Kate Shanks, senior vice president of public affairs for the chamber.
Shanks said some Kentucky residents have said they don’t think their communities could necessarily support business expansion due to housing shortages.
“So, we wanted to know how important home ownership is in the equation or the calculation about obtaining the American dream. And in fact, the vast majority said yes, homeownership is a part of the American dream in Kentucky, about 91% overall,” she said.
Committee co-chair, Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, asked how Kentucky can get more balanced growth across the state.
“Isn’t this, to a large extent, a Golden Triangle and Bowling Green problem? I mean, I’ve got all kinds of houses for sale that if you dropped a company with 100 jobs, we could fill the housing needs for every single one of those in my community,” he said.
Shanks said residents in some communities reported that they could meet the businesses’ demands with existing housing. She said she also wants to see growth throughout Kentucky. It’s not just a Golden Triangle situation because others areas of the state have challenges, she said.
Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, said he started “flipping” houses and has noticed a great deal of money flowing into the housing market from private equity and corporations.
Charles Aull, vice president of policy for the chamber, said the issue of institutional investors is a relatively new market, and he didn’t hear a great deal about it during information-gathering sessions. He said this issue isn’t large enough to compete with the “dramatic” slowdown in homebuilding.
Rep. Thomas Huff, R-Shepherdsville, said he operates a car lot, and the business branched out to buy and sell recreational campers. He said approximately 13 customers told him they were going to live in the campers.
Rep. Kevin Jackson, R-Bowling Green, pointed to a collaboration in his district between three groups and a local school district to build approximately 1,100 housing units – single family houses, condominiums and apartments, along with a new elementary school.
“Maybe this can be a project across the state, but it’s collaboration of those four organizations to try to come up with some affordable housing,” he said.
Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said she doesn’t want regulations to be removed that would impact public safety and building safety.
Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, said he has two children, and he’s concerned about the cost of rent and inflation that affects new construction. He highlighted a sudden rent hike that his son faced while renting a house with friends in college.
“They increased the rent in one year by $400, up to $2,000 per month for this terrible, awful home. Why did they do that – because they could, because people are paying for it,” he said.
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The Greal Leader TACO says we are living in the Greatest Economy of the last 250 years surely, he wouldn’t lie to us.
Now he has banned certain news stations because he doesn’t like what they are reporting people better wake up and put a check on this TACO.