What does Petoskey have in common with Nantucket, Massachusetts, Napa, California and Jackson Hole, Wyoming? They are all deemed “pure luxury” housing markets by Realtor.com.
When the latest analysis came out in March, Petoskey was ranked 11th in the nation, with 53% of home listings exceeding the $1 million mark and a median list price of approximately $1.11 million. That may have surprised some people around the state who know Petoskey for its beaches, forests and small town charm, but for residents it was just another in a long line of reasons why housing can be such a headache in the city.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin was in town on Thursday, May 28 to gather local leaders and community stakeholders for a roundtable discussion on housing issues and possible solutions.
“Honestly, Petoskey has become a statewide story of a community that’s become really hard to attract working families,” Slotkin said. “It was my first time having that conversation as a group, and I think it was a good one.”
About the roundtable
Those in attendance at the roundtable discussion included representatives from city government, North Central Michigan College, McLaren Northern Michigan hospital, Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity, the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance and more.
“I think today’s discussion was absolutely fantastic,” said Nikki Devitt, president and CEO of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We were very excited that Sen. Slotkin wanted to come to Petoskey. We know we’re making national news, and with very valid reasons. So having the conversation with the key people at the table as to what are the next steps, how do you work through these types of solutions, and how do we look to our elected officials to either help us, guide us or show us opportunities where we might be missing something.”
Discussion ranged from potential zoning code changes to incentives or programs aimed at specific workforce groups.
“We also talked about the need to have a general countywide strategic housing plan,” Slotkin said. “I’ve seen this down in the Holland and Ottawa County area. You know, leaders who would otherwise kind of be at each other’s throats figured out how to come together on a countywide plan so that they can actually meet the needs of the greater community. So we talked about maybe inviting those people up here or going on a trip to Holland and seeing how they do it.”
Petoskey has added new housing in the past year, with three apartment complexes opening in fall of 2025. Those projects all made use of fairly creative funding mechanisms, such as multiple partnerships, private and public funding, and donations.
“Clearly the leadership here knows there’s a problem, and they’re trying to deal with it,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin also addressed attitudes around housing and how that can impact future developments, both positively and negatively.
“We often have, particularly in our townships, in our counties, we have people who are kind of what we call NIMBY, right? Not In My Backyard,” she said. “And it’s just, we can’t survive that way as a state. If we do not grow, then 15 years from now, we won’t be able to afford our infrastructure. You’ll have fewer people paying for all the infrastructure in a community, and the prices of utilities will be the same as your mortgage. It’s untenable. So we’ve got to attract and keep more young families here. And that means housing they can afford.”
What are some options?
Slotkin has introduced the National Housing Emergency Act of 2026, a bill that would require the president to declare a national housing emergency and invoke the Defense Production Act to incentivize housing production.
“The bill that I’ve come up with that we’ve been talking about is declaring a housing emergency, calling it for what it is and saying, ‘We’re at a five alarm fire situation right now.’ We’re down 4 million units across the country,” Slotkin said. “And saying, ‘OK, when you have an emergency, and you declare it, you suspend a bunch of regulations, local and federal and state.’ You also say to folks, ‘Look, if you are not going to be working on growing your community, then why should the federal government come in and pay for your new road, your new bridge, your new tunnel, if you’re not pro-growth?’ And now you can make growth any way you want. You know, some communities want manufactured homes. Others want apartment buildings, others don’t. I don’t care how you do it, but Michigan has to grow. It’s existential for us.”
While Petoskey has made progress in building the supply of apartments, single family homes remain unaffordable for many.
Slotkin said she “couldn’t believe it” when she read the pure luxury housing report.
“We have a fundamental supply and demand problem,” she said. “So you need more supply, even of apartments, because at least then you put some pressure off of the remaining homes, and those prices have gone through the roof. So, if it’s apartments, fine, but we know that people want single family homes. The truth is … the cost of building a single family home in Petoskey, just building it new, and, let’s say you don’t care about profit, is so high that the average family can’t afford to buy that home. It’s going to be a retiree who’s coming up from wherever to buy that place.”
The only way to improve that situation, Slotkin said, is to “start a housing boom” and by allowing different options for housing.
“There are a lot of interesting solutions, and I think that we’re at the point now for Petoskey, Traverse, a bunch of other communities where we need to just think way out of the box, particularly for people who are essential for keeping a community going,” she said.
Looking ahead
Many of those in attendance said the discussion generated some good ideas.
“It was very informal and discussed housing and (Slotkin) wanted to know where could the federal government assist in housing in Northern Michigan, and she gave us some connections and some areas downstate that she thought we should get together with and hear about their stress and struggles and see how they overcame housing (issues) to hopefully help us,” said Petoskey Mayor John Murphy. “I think it’s very fortunate that we have a U.S. Senator that is in touch with the people of Michigan, and bleeds and feels Michigan. And it’s really great that we are able to relate with her on where are we at and where do we want to be.”
Devitt added that “it’s a relief in a lot of ways” to know a Petoskey problem is being seen by those who can help.
“I think for a lot of times, parts of Northern Michigan, we feel unseen,” she said. “We feel as though our problems are maybe not as heard or as recognized, because everyone looks to us as the most perfect utopia, which we are. But that doesn’t come without challenge … How do we get to the point where we can be what we want to be for the rest of our state? We want to be able to attract that. We want to be this place that everybody comes to enjoy. But more importantly, we have to maintain the fact that we are a community of 16,000 individuals who are doing our best to live here year round, and have wonderful lives and all the things that we have, great schools and great hospitals, and enjoy this place that we’ve invested our time and our energy and our businesses truly depend on.”
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey leaders gather for housing roundtable with U.S. Sen. Slotkin
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY Network
