Shawnee County officials hear that housing shortage is tied to workforce, tariffs and rising costs

Shawnee County commissioners heard May 1 that the county is not producing enough homes for its population because of rising construction costs, a shrinking workforce pipeline and regulatory or insurance limits that keep young people from hands-on trade experience.

Katie Nelson, CEO of the Topeka Area Builders Association, told the commission the local building sector remains active but faces new headwinds. “Tariffs are gonna hit everything pretty hard,” Nelson said, summarizing conversations with area contractors about material surcharges ranging widely by product. She said the association is concentrating on workforce development — including a recent event that drew about 800 students and led to 22 hires — and on educating contractors about code and permitting.

“The missing middle is really what we need to be concentrating on,” Nelson said, referring to homes priced between entry-level and luxury that would allow older homeowners to downsize and free up family homes for younger buyers. Nelson said average new-home prices have risen and that new builds now commonly start in the mid-$200,000s to $400,000s, making it harder to provide moderately priced new housing.

Darren Stevens, president of the local board of realtors (SAR) and broker-owner of Stone and Story Real Estate Group, told commissioners inventory is well below historic levels. “We are not building enough. We’re not. Absolutely not,” Stevens said. He presented data showing months of supply well below the historical norm, an increase in median sale prices compared with 2015, and simultaneous rises in interest rates, property taxes and homeowner insurance that together reduce affordability for first-time buyers.

Stevens described several structural reasons for constrained housing production: many local builders are long-established, small-volume custom builders who produce only a few houses per year; developers are attracted to projects with tax credits that reduce their financing costs, which has steered more development toward lower-income rental projects; and infrastructure costs for new lots — sewer, roads, utilities — raise the price of greenfield development. He urged consideration of incentives or actions to lower lot and infrastructure costs to enable more ground-up development.

Both speakers flagged workforce and training limits. Nelson said local apprenticeship rules effectively limit a master craftsperson to mentoring a single apprentice at a time in Shawnee County and Topeka — a 1:1 ratio she said is unusual compared with other places that allow two or three apprentices per master. She said she is investigating which authority sets that limit and whether it can be changed.

Nelson also described a Kansas insurance and liability environment that makes it difficult to give under‑18 students hands-on experience on job sites; the association uses school-hour events to get around that by having the activity covered under school field-trip insurance. Stevens and Nelson said Washburn Tech’s trade programs (plumbing, electrical, carpentry and others) are full with waiting lists, but placement from graduates alone will not close the county’s shortage unless apprenticeships and on-the-job training capacity expand.

Speakers gave several examples of innovation and potential relief: Stevens described an incoming 3D-concrete-printing builder, Trident Homes, which plans houses at roughly $165,000 to $250,000 depending on size — considerably below local custom-builder price points for comparable square footage, he said. Both Nelson and Stevens cautioned that tariffs, material costs and an aging trades workforce mean those lower-cost approaches may be necessary but not sufficient without supportive infrastructure and policy steps.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about definitions and concrete steps. Nelson said she prefers the term “attainable” over “affordable” to avoid conflation with subsidized housing programs. She also said some developers prefer tax-credit-backed projects because of the financing they unlock, which explains part of the recent emphasis on lower-income rental construction in the community.

The session included discussion of geographic patterns — Stevens said Southwest Topeka carries a higher price point than East due in part to infrastructure and commercial investment — and of smaller towns in the county where inventory still turns quickly. No formal actions or votes were taken at the work session; commissioners ended the meeting to attend a courthouse remodel dedication across the street.

Nelson and Stevens supplied the commission with local perspectives and numbers but also identified items that need follow-up: confirming which authority sets the 1:1 apprenticeship ratio, exploring insurance or statutory options to let younger students gain practical experience safely, and targeting incentives or infrastructure investments to expand lot availability for developers.

The commission did not adopt policy during the session; commissioners said staff and relevant committees will continue work on developer outreach and planning commission initiatives noted by Nelson.