Kansas Housing Resources Corporation reports surge in production after new state housing funds but warns key tax credit faces cuts

Ryan Vincent, executive director of the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, told the Senate Commerce Committee that new state housing development resources passed in 2022 and subsequent revolving loan and grant rounds have materially increased housing production in Kansas, but that some state and federal tools are at risk.

Vincent said KHRC administration and legislative investments have helped boost annual production from roughly 1,000 homes to nearly 5,000 homes per year (KHRC later cited cumulative figures of about 6,700 homes produced since the new resources were enacted). He said the total development budget for projects financed to date is about $1,700,000,000 and that the agency has leveraged federal resources, private investment and local dollars.

Vincent described specific state tools and recent funding: the Moderate Income Housing (MIH) program (2022 appropriation of about $62,000,000), a Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credit (KHITC) with a $13,000,000 annual allocation, and a Kansas affordable housing tax credit (state tax credit) that had been enacted but “has been passed through the house [and] has been discontinued,” putting a major financing mechanism at risk under the current legislation. He said KHRC has awarded about $41,300,000 through the KHITC since 2023 and that a revolving loan fund had delivered nearly $6,000,000 to nine developments after statutory technical cleanups.

Vincent told lawmakers that MIH had already been fully allocated for the 2022 and 2023 rounds and reported many rural wins: dozens of rental and ownership projects and rehabilitation efforts in places such as Wamego, Great Bend, Hayes, Carbondale, Edwardsville and others. He said a recent round of MIH supplemented by ARPA funding supported 776 homes from $20,000,000 in ARPA MIH allocations and that KHRC had funded thousands of homes across many counties.

On program limits and near‑term risks Vincent said the MIH program had about $6,000,000 remaining and that EDIF funding that had previously supported MIH had been zeroed out in the most recent appropriations. He said portions of the revolving loan fund were rescinded during the last legislative session and that KHRC currently expects about $27,000,000 in that fund after rescissions. Vincent warned committees that if state housing production resources were removed or cut, developers and builders who have begun planning multi‑year projects are likely to shift development away from Kansas.

Vincent described program administration and partnerships: KHRC administers HOME (the federal HOME Investment Partnerships program) for down‑payment assistance and housing development targeted to households at or below 60% of area median income; KHRC works with local lenders, Habitat for Humanity affiliates and community partners; the agency provides technical assistance, compliance, and training; and it coordinates with the Department of Commerce to align MIH awards with local economic development needs.

Lawmakers asked for additional detail and data Vincent offered to provide, including market breakouts, net job creation figures tied to housing investments, and an inventory of housing stock. Vincent also urged policymakers to consider the long‑term fiscal tradeoffs, noting that emergency services for people without housing can cost local systems thousands of dollars per person per year and that front‑end investment in building housing can reduce those recurring costs.

Ending: Vincent asked legislators to sustain investment in state housing tools, noting KHRC has scaled production and partnerships but that several critical resources remain uncertain; committee members raised follow‑up data requests on program costs per unit, local leverage and vacancy/stock inventories.