The NRP Group
Debra Guerrero
As a former city councilwoman and school board trustee in San Antonio, Debra Guerrero’s deep roots in the community directly impacts her approach to affordable housing. Being able to see both sides of the public-private partnership has shaped Guerrero’s perspective as she approaches her day to day as The NRP Group’s senior vice president of strategic partnerships and government affairs. Alongside her team at NRP, a leading affordable housing and multifamily developer, she aims to improve lives as a whole while being on the forefront of opportunities beyond housing.
Recently appointed as the chairwoman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Affordable Housing Group, Affordable Housing Finance caught up with Guerrero to learn more about her plans to lead the group that focuses on 4% and 9% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) development financing.
AHF: How does it feel being appointed chairwoman of NAHB’s Affordable Housing Group?
Guerrero: I appreciate the confidence my industry colleagues from throughout the country have in electing me as chair. I take this responsibility seriously and am committed to the important nature of this group’s work.
AHF: Is there a specific policy you’re wanting to prioritize?
Guerrero: In the 118th Congress, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) is expected to be reintroduced. As the AHG chair, I will lead the efforts in prioritizing NAHB’s continued support of the key provisions of AHCIA, including restoring the 12.5% housing credit allocation that expired in 2021 and other provisions that increase financing for housing production. AHCIA includes a menu of items that will increase affordable housing production and preservation. If all provisions of AHCIA passed, there would be over 2 million affordable homes built or preserved in the next decade. Additionally, we need to remain focused on ensuring that regulatory and policy changes introduced at the federal level do not negatively impact affordable housing production through increased costs.
AHF: How do you hope to drive innovative impact in affordable housing through the group?
Guerrero: I want to introduce and encourage our industry leaders to look for already existing synergies between other essential services like health care, education, and nonprofit services to identify ways to incorporate housing. By creating innovative partnerships and bringing together a wide range of organizations, we can continue to address the needs of residents holistically while providing quality housing options.
AHF: What is one of the largest challenges affordable housing developers are facing this year?
Guerrero: As affordable housing developers we continue to be challenged by the volatility of an environment outside of our control—the rise in interest rates, construction cost increases, and labor shortages. All these issues, including a rise in operational expenses, specifically insurance costs, are making already difficult deals more challenging.
AHF: What can be done to overcome the challenge(s)?
Guerrero: One of the primary purposes of our organization is to bring together a wide variety of experts from across the multifamily industry to provide well-informed input on how we mitigate these issues. Our members can share best practices on how they have worked through these issues, as well as identify strategies and federal policies to advocate for to provide relief.
AHF: Are there any issues directly affecting the construction of affordable housing that you hope to take on?
Guerrero: NAHB, with input from AHG, can use its mighty voice to influence the implementation of policies introduced by Congress. One such set of rules that have recently been issued for comment that we are following closely is the Build America Buy America Act (BABA). While it is unclear if the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) includes affordable housing construction in the administration’s definition of ‘infrastructure’ in the BABA Act, it is important for our experts to call out the impact this could have on the industry.
In 2021, when the country was experiencing single-digit inflation on most goods and services, we experienced over 25% inflation in construction costs. In 2022, inflation remained at 16% to 17% for construction, still well above national inflation averages for other goods. A significant and primary driver of this aggressive inflation in construction was the inability to produce and deliver materials efficiently and in short time frames to project sites. Structural labor and other challenges in the last two years have combined to cause material lead times to balloon from weeks to many, many months. And this occurred in an environment where, being free from these kinds of proposed restrictions, we had the entire world’s construction supply chains available to us.
We need to ensure that the implementation of BABA does not significantly narrow supply chain options and risk reigniting exactly the kind of runaway cost escalations that have reduced and shelved affordable projects across the country. This proposal could result in directly conflicting with government and other program goals to increase affordable housing units in this country.
AHF: What new strategies will you use to advocate for affordable housing?
Guerrero: Housing affordability is a priority in every local, state, and federal policy discussion both in urban and rural areas. An important strategy is to refocus our advocacy efforts on the beneficiaries of our work—working families, seniors, and children. Our advocacy efforts need to be focused on telling their stories because it is directly linked to our own mission of meeting the demand within our local communities of ensuring housing affordability. I plan to invite our key stakeholders to our residential communities to meet and speak with residents to see the important impact of our work in person.
AHF: Are there any common misconceptions involving affordable housing?
Guerrero: I think one of the biggest misconceptions about affordable housing is who we are serving with our developments. Of course, we are providing deeply affordable and traditionally affordable options, but people often forget about the affordability needs of our workforce members like nurses, teachers, first responders, and more. Creating access to affordable housing options for people in the 70% to 100% area median income brackets is important and often overlooked.
AHF: How does it feel to be a woman in the housing industry?
Guerrero: As a real estate professional I am in the minority, both as a woman and a Latina. This position allows me a unique perspective from which to share my opinion on issues, which adds value to the conversation. One of my personal priorities has been to encourage access for more women in the industry through my participation and support of mentorship and leadership programs. Providing access to internships and positioning more women in leadership roles within the real estate industry is essential to inspiring women to join the field as leaders and innovators.
