From availability to affordability, housing is a concern across the country.

That includes here in the Commonwealth, where studies show where thousands of units short, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Congressman Brett Guthrie held a roundtable discussion about that on Thursday.

Laura Rogers has more from Louisville.

Access to affordable housing for America is a bipartisan issue.

That's evident in the passage of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which had support from both sides of the aisle.

We were an advocate for that act, and we're really grateful for Congressman Guthrie and his leadership to be able to passage a comprehensive Housing Act at the federal level.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce now focused on state efforts to address the housing shortage, something they say is crucial for economic development.

We need more housing to hold all the workforce that's coming into the state.

Ashley Watts says it is a statewide concern, particularly along the I-65 corridor and cities like Elizabethtown and Bowling Green.

Several years ago, we partnered with the home builders of Kentucky and said, why is this an issue here in Kentucky?

We're hearing about a home shortage, but why is that an issue?

What we found through research is that Kentucky is short, almost over 200,000 units right here in the Commonwealth just to meet the needs that we currently have.

The Kentucky Chamber and Congressman Guthrie sat down with builders, realtors, banks and policymakers to learn more about what could ease this issue from their perspective.

The feedback we got is the every time government puts a regulation on it puts just an expense on the on the developer, which has to be passed on to the homeowner.

Regulations aren't free.

And so we want to make sure that people are protected.

There is some level of regulation that is needed, but also not in a place that that makes it so expensive people can't afford to buy home.

The average age of the first time homebuyer keeps rising, as many young people are priced out of the housing market.

Affordability on a big scale and housing affordability more specifically, is something that I hear all the time.

We heard today that the average new homeownership age is age 40.

Several years ago, that was in your 20s.

The 21st Century Road to Housing Act supports small dollar mortgages, typically less than six figures, which aims to help borrowers purchase lower cost homes.

It's also removing burdensome regulations, making it easier to build a house, making it easier to build the construction and all the infrastructure that goes into building a home.

The General Assembly considered Senate Bill nine this past legislative session, which addressed the state's housing shortage.

It didn't make it across the finish line, but lawmakers say they'll resume those efforts when they reconvene in January.

An issue.

That's not going away.

It's something that's so important to every county in our state, and it's something that we really need to move forward.

So now we're coming back together over their interim period, really trying to regroup, work with legislative leaders, work with stakeholders for a path forward.

Congressman Guthrie says it's a balancing act between easing regulations while protecting the homebuyer.

Housing is usually people's biggest investment.

So we want to make sure that people make a good, solid investment in the consumer.

Protections are in place, but not in the way.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce says looking at our economic environment and workforce, housing will be its top legislative priority in 2027.