Many proposals are floating around Michigan right now to lower the cost of housing, but state legislators can’t come together on a plan that would change things for the better.
And many Michigan residents are suffering because of it.
As a result, home prices have risen to the point that home ownership has become wholly unattainable.It’s also affected conception and family planning.
The media has profiled middle-class families in Michigan who can’t afford larger homes in their ideal neighborhoods to grow their families, even though they were “doing all the right things.”
The problem doesn’t require rocket science to diagnose: Michiganians suffer a shortfall of more than 119,000 homes. Too few homes mean that residents have no choice but to bid each other up for the limited supply that remains available.
That’s why the average Michigan home value is now $263,590, up 4.2% over the past year. Democrats and Republicans both believe that’s a problem but can’t always agree on how to fix it.
In February, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to amend zoning laws to allow for a greater number of homes on a parcel of land. The legislation would reduce parking minimums, update lot and setback rules, and expand Accessory Dwelling Units and multiunit development.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports it. Local government groups, however, oppose the legislation, saying it “would significantly restrict local authority by preempting local decision-making on key zoning issues.”
However, Michigan’s housing shortage is no longer just a local issue. Families cannot afford homes, young people leave communities they grew up in, and workers struggle to live near their jobs all across the state.
This is a states’ rights issue. Local activists should not have a veto over solutions to a crisis affecting millions of Michiganians.
Every community wants affordable housing. Too often, however, no community wants additional housing built nearby. If every locality says “not here,” Michigan will continue suffering from the same shortage that created this affordability crisis in the first place.
Michigan lawmakers have considered other proposals.
Some legislators want to update the state’s mobile home codes and create a $42 million program that could help the state add an extra 2,000 housing units a year.
Others seek to limit how strict local governments are about minimum lot sizes and require local governments to allow duplexes in any zoning district where single-family residences are permitted.
Reasonable people can disagree about which of these ideas is best. What lawmakers should not do is allow political disagreements to become an excuse for inaction.
And they also can’t afford to blame scapegoats for the problem either.
Some activists, for example, have blamed the AI-utilizing property management software used by landlords for the housing crisis. The technology gives them pricing suggestions, similar to how Kelley Blue Book gives consumers cost estimates for their car sales. But as many progressive and consumer advocacy groups have already argued ad nauseam, blaming these tools is tantamount to blaming the meteorologist for the rain. They only report on what the market is currently bearing; they don’t create the underlying marketplace conditions.
The only way to change the underlying marketplace conditions is to build more housing. This and this alone will get home prices down in our state.
The longer Michigan delays concrete action, the more expensive homeownership will become, and the harder it will be for young families to build their futures here.
Michigan’s housing shortage was years in the making. It will not be solved overnight. But lawmakers owe Michiganians more than debate. They owe them action.
Brandon Dillon is a former Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 75 from 2010 to 2015.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan’s housing crisis isn’t a mystery. It’s a supply shortage. | Opinion
Reporting by Brandon Dillon / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brandon Dillon | USA TODAY Network
