Listen to this article 6 min
The Kansas Housing Conference returned this week to its first in-person gathering since before the Covid-19 pandemic — and a lot has changed in the housing market the last two years.
"This is a really pivotal time for us in our industry in affordable housing, and specifically here in Kansas," said Emily Sharp, a spokesperson with the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which puts on the annual conference. "... I think that the pandemic really put a lot of the housing challenges that were already existing in our state, and across the nation, really under the microscope."
It's also the conference's largest crowd yet.
The three-day event started Tuesday and runs through Thursday at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Wichita. In its 17th year, the conference has 600 registered participants.
"We were very tentative in planning for this year and turns out people were just so eager to connect and to get back together," Sharp said. "It's been actually the largest crowd that we've had as far as attendees and sponsors and exhibitors."
Sharp said one of the biggest draws for the conference each year is the training components for landlords, owner-agents and property managers to stay compliant with federal programs, such as for Section 8 housing or low-income housing tax credits.
The agenda includes conversations around land banks, sustainability, construction, homelessness and other topics.
A big topic of conversation this week, though, is affordable housing.
A comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment released in 2021 revealed that a lack of quality, affordable housing is widely recognized as one of the state’s biggest barriers to growth and development, particularly in rural and underserved communities. It's a problem that's only been exacerbated by the economic impacts of Covid-19.
"We'll be spending some time talking about our relief efforts specifically in the context of the pandemic, but beyond that, I think this has kind of helped the larger conversation about the underlying challenges that we were facing with just simply not having enough quality affordable housing across the state — even before the pandemic."
The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation administers the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program and the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund, for example, but Sharp said there are many other state programs available to incentives
"There's a lot of interest in how folks can partner to take advantage of those resources and to get those to get those resources into our communities and get those units built," Sharp said.
One of the keynote speakers this week is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond, whose book "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" inspired the start of an The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, a comprehensive database of eviction statistics nationwide.
"We're just so pleased that we're going be able to have him here on Thursday, and so we're super excited about that," Sharp said.
Registration to the conference is closed, but Sharp said those interested in attending a session or two can contact the housing corporation office.
“We can work to accommodate folks on an as-needed basis,” she said.