NH Home Builders Exec. Dir.

Matt Mayberry

‘We need to look at housing accessibility for someone making about $42,000 a year. That is a police officer, a firefighter, a teacher. These are the people that protect us, but yet can’t live within the same communities,” says Matt Mayberry, executive director of the NH Home Builders Association.

It seems Matt Mayberry has done it all: sitting on the Dover City Council, serving as vice chair of the Republican Party and chair of the state’s Human Rights Commission, and serving as a delegate at the Republican National Convention for Sen. John McCain and twice for Donald Trump. Trump ending up opposing Mayberry’s failed bid to secure his party’s nomination to challenge Congressman Chris Pappas last year.

Mayberry recently became the executive director of the NH Home Builders Association, which has been leaderless since June of 2016.

Q. In the last congressional campaign, although you supported Trump, the other guy got his endorsement. What do you think about that?

A. I was a Trump delegate in 2016 and in 2020. I introduced him eight or nine times in the state. But my primary opponent worked in the administration. I’m back here in New Hampshire making a difference. My opponent was in Washington, closer to the source.

God had a different plan for me. I have delivered 2,500 meals to Meals on Wheels. I spent 250 hours administering Covid vaccines. What I really want to do is serve my state, help small businesses. That’s how I fell in with the Home Builders — it’s that continuation of service.

Q. How do you feel about Trump after January 6th?

A. As a Republican, I’m looking forward to a wide-open field of candidates in 2024.

Q. Are you possibly one of those candidates in the future, locally?

A. No. I am fully committed to helping the Home Builders grow their organization.

Q. They’ve been without a leader for a while. What was going on with that?

A. It was just the board, and the past executive director wanting to take two different directions. I don’t need to gossip. Here’s my whiteboard. Let’s go forward.

Q. Why did they decide they wanted someone now?

A. Coming out of Covid, more businesses want to focus on workforce development, expanding their brand, engage with members more. When they saw someone like me, they’re like, “Hey, you’re not shy. You can organize, speak, raise money, do events, get numbers.”

One thing about my job is to educate the public that these are good paying jobs.

There is a young man who owns an HVAC company. He’s 30 years old. He has a cabin on the lake. He has a home. He has 11 jet skis. He drives a $70,000 truck. And he has a boat.

He’s like, “I didn’t go to college. I went to high school, went to tech school, learned this, did business courses and started my business. My contemporaries are still paying their student loans.”

You can raise a family being a carpenter, being a builder, being an electrician or a roofer.

Q. NH Home Builders have been part of this coalition in favor of affordable housing. They’ve been frustrated with municipalities. Is that still going to be a big part of the Home Builders’ agenda?

A. Absolutely. We need to look at housing accessibility for someone making about $42,000 a year. That is a police officer, a firefighter, a teacher. These are the people that protect us, but yet can’t live within the same communities.

I’m a local control guy. Municipalities are hesitant to approve a development that is going to put 150 children in their school system because they know the school building aid hasn’t been there. With that, the move was to go to 55 and older (residences), but they didn’t realize that on the other side, that community tends to call ambulances more. They’re paying one way or another. We’ve got to bring in families with children. If not, our workforce is just going to keep going down and down and down.

Q. People 55 and older, they have their property tax exemptions or they will get them in 10 years or so, and a young family, they’re paying taxes.

A. I think as a state, we need to work all together on federal assistance for school building aid to allow young families to move in. I know of one town that I won’t name, there was a two-acre minimum to build everything. You and I know the cost of land. If you were to add $225,000 at least just for land acquisition, a piece of dirt, you’re automatically adding $500,000 to $600,000 homes.

Then we’ll look at the supply chain — close to $40,000 to $42,000 on that same home. It’s not just lumber, it’s doors, it’s windows, it’s carpeting. It’s all across the board, from the chimney down to the basement.

Q. What can you do about that at Home Builders?

A. We worked with our national association and the congressional delegation. We know the United States has a 24% tariff on imported lumber. That got reduced to 9%. We’re advocating that it be dropped to zero. Also, looking at the importation of lumber from Norway, Sweden, Denmark — other places than just Canada. We also have to look at our own timber practices here in the United States, that they allow the harvesting of timber only for a few months a year in our national forests. That needs to be extended, operating under best practices for forestry management.

Q. You mentioned the congressional delegation. You were trying to run against one of the congressmen. How are you in terms of working with Chris Pappas?

A. I never made this about Chris Pappas as a person, as a human being. Congressman Pappas has his way. He served our state well. He still serves our state well. I’ve done this for 35 years. I’ve worked with Democrats and Republicans, Undeclareds. It’s still getting things done. It’s just we have difference of opinions how we get there.