The headlines are catchy, and the stories of economic success are certainly worth celebrating.

“$3.2 billion electric vehicle battery plant coming to Kokomo” “Amazon plans to build $11 billion data center complex near New Carlisle” “Meta coming to River Ridge, building $800 million data center in Southern Indiana” Indiana is attracting major companies, and that’s excellent news. From manufacturing to data, the state is in many ways excelling at bringing in good-paying jobs.

But the news isn’t all good. Experts worry that new mega-developments will put more strain on an already thin housing market. Mark Fisher, CEO of the Indiana Association of Realtors, told CNHI’s Carson Gerber that the state needs 25,000 more homes just to keep up with current demand.

And current demand won’t cut it when these mega-developments open for business, potentially bringing thousands more people to Indiana for jobs.

While Indiana’s home and rental prices are thankfully below the national average, mortgage and rent payments have skyrocketed in recent years without much relief in sight. Those costs, industry experts told Gerber, are likely to be exacerbated with an influx of additional workers.

So, what can be done to ease housing struggles while not damaging Indiana’s economic retention and attraction?

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. awards tax credits to major companies to help lure them to the state. Perhaps it’s time that tax credits are also extended to developers to build housing in areas where sizable establishments are opening. As with the business credits, which typically require the employer to pay certain wages and hire a specified number of employees, housing credits should require affordability. The rates for purchasing the homes or renting the apartments constructed should be affordable for workers in those areas.

Mega-development employers should also be part of the solution by either seeking to construct housing to ensure workers have a place to stay, or by working with local and state government to contribute toward housing initiatives. No business, however great or small, is successful without good employees. If huge corporations are willing to shell out billions of dollars to construct plants and data centers, it only makes sense that they invest in housing for employees.

Elected officials must continue to examine the issue and come up with ways to fix it. If not, the American Dream will become a goal of the past, and the state could lose out on employers who are concerned that their workers won’t be able to find a place to live.
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