Home builder makes $25M charitable pledge, eyes Idaho’s ‘game changer’ housing law

A decade ago, Dennis Murphy found himself bothered by the way companies chose to “give back” at the end of a good year.

“In the back of my mind, I was thinking: ‘Why’d you take so much in the first place?’ ” the CEO of Hayden Homes, the Pacific Northwest’s largest private homebuilder, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. “If you’re going to give back, why not just give as you go?”

That phrase — “Give As You Go” — became something of a motto, he said — his company’s answer to “Just Do It.” Now, it’s also the name of the firm’s largest charitable fund to date, with a promise to donate $25 million over the next five years to the counties in which Hayden Homes works.

To help do it, they’re gifting $300 to homebuyers at each closing, and asking them to nominate local nonprofits to receive the donations. The money will go to a 501c(3) organization in the new homeowner’s county that addresses housing needs, youth education or food security. Donors can also pick Hayden Homes’ own nonprofit, First Story, which provides interest-free, no-money-down home loans to families buying into Hayden houses.

In all, Murphy expects about $500,000 of the firm’s $5 million yearly contributions to be directed by new homeowners through the “Every Home Gives” program.

“Because it’s every house, it’s happening every day,” he said — just like the motto instructs.

Hayden Homes kicked off the campaign Wednesday with a $100,000 donation to a library in Walla Walla, Washington, following the advocacy of customers in the area, Murphy said. That’s another part of asking residents to nominate organizations: It allows Hayden’s customers to guide the company’s charitable board toward areas of high demand.

“We could do this anywhere,” Murphy said of the Walla Walla example. “If 10, 20, 30 people say we support (a certain project), we can do that.”

Homebuilder eager to use ‘game changer’ law

Oregon-based Hayden Homes has built nearly 30,000 houses in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon since it launched in 1989, including close to 6,200 in Idaho. In that time, its First Story program has donated around $88 million to help new homeowners earning less than an area’s median income buy houses.

The company aims to build houses for those making around an area’s median income, Murphy said, but that’s getting harder in places like Idaho. Hayden typically works in “secondary and underserved markets,” often finding land in rural communities.

“It’s a good business model,” he said, “but it’s getting harder every day.”

The company is in 13 Idaho markets, and has been able to build homes affordable to people making roughly 80% of AMI or below in Caldwell, Nampa, Kuna and Middleton, according to Hayden spokesperson Megan Langer. Houses in its latest Caldwell development start around $333,000, about a third less than Canyon County’s median list price in April, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

“It’s critical to keep the workforce in homes that they can afford,” said Deb Flagan, vice president of community engagement for Hayden Homes.

“As we know, there’s a shortage of housing,” she added. “People don’t want a ton, but they want to live in a nice place with dignity.”

Flagan has seen that message take hold in many cities around the region. Last year, Flagan addressed Idaho’s Interim Committee on Land Use and Housing — a group that launched several new state laws last session, including one that decreases minimum lot sizes to allow for smaller homes.

Flagan thinks that bill could be “a game changer” for housing in Idaho, which is beset by rising land costs, she told the Statesman.

“We really believe that legislation is going to help people who grew up in Idaho stay in Idaho,” she said. “That’s really who it is for.”

Recently, Flagan has seen more interest in Hayden’s market-based approach to workforce housing, she said. She said Hayden gets calls “at least once a month” from cities that they don’t already work in exploring ideas for developing middle-income homes. When those calls come, Flagan said she’s happy to share.

“We’re not trying to keep it in a black box,” she said. “We haven’t cracked the code, but we’ve made some suggestions.”