Chris Pappas Discusses Affordable Housing, Keeping Private Equity From Buying Up Granite State Communities in Contoocook

CONTOOCOOK, N.H. — Congressman Chris Pappas joined homeowners at The Meadows Community in Contoocook, a 70-lot manufactured housing park, to discuss New Hampshire’s affordable housing crisis and the impact of out-of-state corporations buying up Granite State communities. 

Last year, the park was sold to Sado Parks, a Michigan-based investment firm, resulting in steep rents for new owners and rent hikes for existing residents. Pappas recently introduced the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act, which would incentivize manufactured home park owners to sell the park to community residents or nonprofits, rather than another developer or landlord. This would help more Granite Staters stay in their homes by protecting residents in manufactured homes from excessive rent increases.

Listen to coverage from NHPR here or read more on the event below:

“Everyone’s got a role to play to solve this problem, but when greed and profit drives corporations to come in here and jack up the cost of housing and disrupt the lives of community members that have been here for decades, there should be no place for that. It sets us back in our efforts to make New Hampshire a more affordable place to live and to build for the future,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “We need to build smarter in New Hampshire. There are too many people that are being priced out right now, and we need to focus on increasing supply, giving our communities the tools to think creatively, to revamp zoning, to adopt best practices. Doing things the way we’ve always done them isn’t a recipe for success when we’re going to be 90,000 housing units short of where we need to be by the end of the decade.”

“[The new owner] is charging $1,285 a month rent for people to come into the park and he upped our rent by $70 a month [for existing residents],” said Meadows resident Jean Lightfoot. “[Potential buyers] call saying, ‘Is that really the rent? That’s too much.’”

Across New Hampshire, home prices are reaching record highs while supply stays tight — squeezing Granite State families and making it harder for communities to grow. Congressman Chris Pappas is running for U.S. Senate to lower costs for Granite Staters and make housing more affordable. He’s championed legislation to combat the housing crisis in New Hampshire by expanding affordable housing, increasing housing supply, and helping first-time homebuyers get ahead. 

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