Clay County leaders have called in a regional economic development partner in an attempt to bring more housing to the county.

Recognizing the need for more housing in the community while also recognizing that Clay County government is not and does not want to be in the housing business, the county has partnered with Thrive West Central to bring a housing program to Clay County.

During their meetings earlier this month, both the Clay County Commissioners and Clay County Council approved moving forward with the housing program.

“We’re partnering with Thrive West Central to get our housing program off the ground and to promote housing in the county,” Commissioner Marty Heffner told The Brazil Times. “The commissioners don’t have any desire to be in the housing business because we’re not experts in that. So now we’re partnering with Thrive in order to bring the private and public sector together to promote housing in the county.”

Julie Hart leads these efforts as Thrive’s director of housing. She noted that while Thrive serves a number of different counties and the housing shortage is a nationwide issue, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

“What we’re doing as far as housing programs in Clay County could be very different than what we do in Putnam County and different from what we do in Vigo County,” Hart said.

Instead, Thrive partnered with Zimmerman/Volk Associates, a firm that has performed more than 600 such studies in 47 states. The approach is the “Target Market Methodology,” which assesses market potential rather than market demand.

• Where does the potential market live now?

• How many are likely to move to the county?

• Who are they?

• What are their housing preferences?

• How much is the market likely to pay?

• What should the rents and prices be?

• How fast will they rent or buy the new units?

“What is the potential for people to move here?” Hart elaborated. “That gives hope. That gives incentive. That says, ‘Our community has worth. People want to come here.’ ”

An important early step is to identify the demographics of a community. Clay County has a population of 26,300 and 10,610 households. The median household income is $68,400 while the median housing value is $137,650.

Looking more closely at the households, 44% are empty nesters and retirees, another 37% are traditional and non-traditional families while 19% are younger singles and couples.

The plurality of empty nesters and retirees seems to create a challenge, but Hart noted that one outcome is this aging population moving away from its larger homes and into smaller houses or condos. This, by extension, opens space for the younger families.

“The greatest movement first will be within,” she said.

The study found that the largest potential market for Clay County housing already resides here — 57%, in fact. After that, 18% comes from Vigo and Marion counties, 10% from Putnam, Owen and Parke and another 19% from the rest of the state and country.

What would make someone from another part of the country come to Clay County?

“Our property taxes are low,” Hart said. “If people can find the product they want to live in, they’ll move here.”

That “product” is more than just the housing stock, but also things like available jobs, good schools that are not at capacity, existing infrastructure and walkability of neighborhoods.

The study found that 1,455 households of all incomes have the potential to move to Clay County in a given year — 39% of them traditional and non-traditional families, 34% younger singles and couples and 27% empty nesters and retirees.

Most importantly for moving forward with the housing program are their housing preferences. The study found that 51% of these potential households want detached houses, while another 38 are seeking rentals. Townhouses and condominiums occupy the smallest potential demand at just 8% and 3% respectively.

The study found that current rents in the area range from $400 to $800 a month, but that affordable/workforce rents could range from $750-$1,150 a month while market-rate rents could be between $975 and $1,650.

Likewise, house prices in Clay County currently range from $65,000 to $750,000, while affordable/workforce costs for detached houses could be between $120,000 and $195,000. The market-rate prices could be between $230,000 and $365,000.

Even with this information in hand, the next step is to get builders of both apartments and detached houses in Clay County. Thrive already has a model in place for this.

Using funding from the first round of the READI program from the State of Indiana, 72 new housing units have already been built in Clay County, 24 detached houses and 48 duplexes.

“With the READI 1.0 funds, we partnered with developers to help offset infrastructure costs because that seems to be the highest,” Hart said.

The overall costs to build are assessed, then what the developers are willing and able to invest and what the gap is between the two.

“What we want to do is close that gap so that we can lessen the risk,” Hart said. “If we can lessen that by partnering with them, then, ‘OK, we’re going to build it.’ It’s a small amount of money compared to the market value.”

During READI 1.0, that meant an investment of $701,290 in public dollars and a resulting market value of more than $7 million in new housing.

“And I’m going to say the market value is very conservative,” Hart said. “Because of where we placed them, they sell higher than that. As we continue to track counties, we’re finding that.”

Officials are now preparing for READI 2.0, and Thrive is working with Clay County to find what else might be set aside.

Ultimately, the goal is to no longer need such a program.

“Our final goal is really to not have a purpose,” Hart said. “We want to start up that system and then make it an ecosystem.”

However, that involves a change of mindset from home builders and home buyers, who have gone from building spec houses to custom builds. The need is to get back to spec houses.

“We have to get it into the builders’ mind, ‘If I build it, it will sell,’ ” Hart said.

Of course, then there have to be home buyers, and there is a plan for that too. Many residents in the area are eligible for what is known as Club 720, which provides assistance in getting started with the home buying and home owning process.

The program gets its name from the prime credit score wanted for purchasing a home. It is available to first- and second-time home buyers with an incoming of up to 140% of average median income, which in Clay County translates to $107,100.

“That’s going to be most people,” Hart said. “Our message is this is a program based on income, but it will provide for most people in the community.”

The program helps potential buyers through the process of getting ready to buy a home. Each is paired with a coach who analyzes their finances and advises them on next steps, such as raising credit scores, paying off debt or saving.

When Club 720 participants are deemed ready to buy, they are matched with lenders to shepherd them through the next steps.

It can assist with up to five% of initial costs on buying a home.

“It is a fantastic way to put home buyers into those homes,” Hart said, noting that it also connects buyers to builders, realtors and others involved in the process. “It connects all of those crucial people in that process together.”

For now, the job is to put a steering committee together as the county continues to move toward this program. After that, some more concrete steps will be taken

“It’s so exciting. We learn new aspects of it every day,” she said. “The most exciting part is that each community is so different. I live just outside Brazil and think I know Brazil, but every time I meet with these community leaders, I learn something new.

“We might lead it, but it’s all driven within. That’s where the power and the source comes from,” Hart said, specifically praising the three commissioners. “We’re excited when we sit down with Marty (Heffner) and Bryan (Allender) and Paul (Sinders) because they are ready for this.”
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