In the spring of 2024, an NAR Smart Growth Poll in Northern Kentucky revealed a number of interesting facts about the region’s housing needs. It looked like 1,300 new units would have to be produced annually for the next five years in order to meet demand. Half of this was needed by low-income residents, and a significant percentage of the new housing would have to be one- and two-bedroom units. But before any meaningful progress could be made, the Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® (NKAR) realized they were facing a more fundamental problem: the area’s residents were not seeing the connection between housing affordability and the lack of inventory. With a Consumer Advocacy Grant from the REALTOR® Party, NKAR and the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) conducted an educational campaign promoting the concept of supply-and-demand in the housing industry.
NKAR’s Governmental Affairs Director Veronica Dickerson explains that eight of the 12 counties represented by the association had been tasked by their leaders to investigate the region’s housing shortage, and the taskforce that was created included key stakeholders, including REALTORS®. “We looked at the REALTOR® Party resources we were able to bring to the table, and determined which ones we could use to propel our mission forward. It made sense to start with the Smart Growth Poll, just to take the pulse and gauge responses to questions about housing sizes, the desire to age in place, and for grown children and essential workers to be able to live in the community.”
“The survey showed us how much work we had to do in closing the economic understanding gap,” she continues. “There was also a clear voter-split between wanting more affordable housing and maintaining the character of existing neighborhoods. Fortunately, with our access to MLS data and the resources of the REALTOR® Party, we were able to demonstrate to the community that its available housing was not income-aligned with the needs of its residents, and that a greater diversity in housing inventory was needed. The traditional single-family home is no longer the best option for everyone, or even attainable in today’s market.”
The results of the survey informed the educational campaign that followed. Targeted social media advertising directed roughly 40K households to visit “Northern Kentucky: A Place for All,” a dedicated website featuring graphics and charts that clearly explained the link between supply and price; the impact of high demand and low inventory; and the necessity of diverse housing stock to help seniors age in place. NAR’s team reported that the campaign attracted significant attention,
with visitors actually spending time on the website, reading and absorbing its content; many of them signed up to receive more information or to become an advocate. “It was great to be able to share these results at the NKADD meeting as the campaign was winding down,” reports Dickerson. “The response was so gratifying – everyone was very impressed, and it definitely firmed our position as the region’s voice for real estate.”
Dickerson appreciates all the tools and resources offered by the REALTOR® Party, and the enhanced contribution they allow NKAR to make to broader community efforts like this one. “The polling and the grant program were both very user-friendly,” she notes. “NAR has literal geniuses at their disposal, and all the resources to help you through the process. We just provided a skeleton of the information they needed, and they ran with it, producing a fantastic campaign that we were all very proud of.” It was a privilege, she says, to work on a project that had such a broad reach, in the service of bringing the community the housing that aligns with its needs.
To learn more about how the Northern Kentucky Association of REALTORS® is working to educate consumers about the reality of the region’s housing needs, contact Governmental Affairs Director Veronica Dickerson at veronica@nkar.com or 859.279.7677.
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