In Iowa free land giveaways can be imperfect fix for rural housing shortage

A significant number of homes across Iowa have seen better days.

The state's median home was built in 1968 — the eighth-oldest in the country — with more than a quarter of housing units, at 26.1 percent, built in 1939 or earlier. That's the fifth-highest percentage nationwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Iowa's aging housing stock can stand out especially vividly in its smaller cities, some of which have gone so far as to offer pieces of themselves at no cost to private builders or developers who pledge to add even one more home to the local ranks.

But even free land giveaways aren't a magic bullet solution for officials seeking to address a rural housing shortage, industry observers have said.

And in some cities with populations as small as a few hundred residents, a sort of vicious cycle persists: Residents don't move to such cities in large numbers when new homes aren't getting built, officials and experts have outlined, and because residents aren't moving in, most developers don't see a path to profit in building new homes there.

'I think it's a difference between life and death, to be honest with you,' said Marne Mayor Randy Baxter, of housing as it relates to the vitality of Iowa's rural communities. 'A lot of these small towns are fading away.'

And yet, small cities that successfully court new housing not only add to their property tax base but also can curb outward migration and reap 'intangible benefits' from people putting down roots, said Brian Depew, the Center for Rural Affairs executive director.

'I think that in general, we need to get a lot more creative and be willing as a community to have skin in the game when it comes to housing development and not just leave it to developers, the private market or individuals,' he said.

'We should be willing to spend our tax dollars on making sure we're developing the next generation of housing stock.'

UP FOR GRABS

At least four cities in Iowa either have taken stabs at no-cost land giveaways.