To attract and keep families and businesses in rural America, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) recently signed on as an original cosponsor of a bipartisan bill to construct or rehabilitate 500,000 homes for middle- and low-income families.
“Between labor shortages and record inflation to depressed inventory and budgetary restrictions, the cost of building a home has skyrocketed and the price tag of buying a home is out of reach for too many Americans, especially young families in rural communities,” Rep. Feenstra said on July 24. “This is a serious problem that requires thoughtful solutions to ensure that families who want to buy a home in rural areas can do so.”
The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, H.R. 3940, which U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) sponsored on June 9 with four other original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), would establish a federal tax credit for developers to construct new housing or rehabilitate existing homes in rural communities, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Feenstra’s office.
The tax credit seeks to close the “value gap” that occurs when the cost to build a home exceeds the price at which it is expected to sell by covering up to 35 percent of development expenses for new construction, the summary says.
“To keep our families and businesses in rural Iowa, we need to incentivize the construction of new homes and the rehabilitation of older structures, which in turn promotes population growth, generates economic development, and supports our thriving main streets,” said Rep. Feenstra. “I’m glad to work with my colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee to introduce the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act to lower the cost of building new homes, support housing revitalization, and make the dream of homeownership attainable and affordable for our families in rural America.”
H.R. 3940 is under consideration by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.