(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/20/2023) Dawn Crandall of the Home Builders Association of Michigan describes the state's housing crisis as ongoing, with supply being limited, demand remaining really high and individuals seeking workforce housing getting "bumped even further down the housing chain."
Is it fair to call the housing shortage for the working class a crisis or is that overused hyperbole, Crandall was asked on this week's edition of the MIRS Monday podcast.
"We are really comfortable with that word 'crisis,' because the supply is limited and the demand is still really high . . . when you look at who can play in that kind-of cash market – mortgage market . . . if people are coming in with over-asking value, it kind of bumps everybody down into that lower tier."
Kicking off the interview, Crandall illustrated how, during a "big build" in 2005, more than 54,000 permits were applied for and obtained for single-family housing construction. She said by 2009, the number of single-family permits had dropped to about 6,900.
As of September of this year – more than 14 years following the start of 2009 – she said 10,684 single-family permits have been pulled in Michigan.
"We've only just hit a little over 10,000. We've never peaked and valleyed, it's just been a (slow) increase," Crandall said. "We really are trying to show legislators that it's not just a builder issue, that it touches (the) entire ecosystem of Michigan, where if we can't build it, businesses can't hire talent to live where they work, communities lose out on some of that funding base . . . and so it truly is kind of a housing crisis that everyday, we talk about."
According to a survey of local officials across 1,307 jurisdictions in Michigan, ranging from city mayors and managers to county administrators and clerks, 54% of respondents said there was "too little entry-level housing" in their community and 41% expressed there was a shortage of single-family housing options in their jurisdiction.
A similar survey conducted in 2017 by the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State and Urban Policy shows that around six years ago, 23% of local officials felt there was a shortage of single-family housing options in their area.
When asked what housing reform was left behind by legislators when they adjourned Nov. 14, Crandall pointed to Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City)'s SB 293, lifting distribution constraints on the Michigan Housing and Community Development Program (MHCDP).
The program, which is overseen by the state's housing development authority, is required to have 55% of its funds dedicated to "low income" and "very low income" households, with eligibility standards prioritizing projects in downtown areas or adjacent neighborhoods.
As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved $50 million to be annually deposited into the program for Fiscal Years 2023, 2024 and 2025 – through the passage of HB 4001 – SB 293 aimed to make the money also accessible to middle-income housing developments, regardless of their location.
On Nov. 8, SB 293 was temporarily passed on in the House.
"That bill fell a couple of votes short in the House, and so we're hoping that when they come back in January, that will be one of the first bills up," Crandall said.
Crandall's association is a part of the Housing Michigan coalition, additionally featuring the Michigan Municipal League, the Grand Rapids Chamber and Housing North, which advocates for housing demands in Northwest Michigan communities.
Crandall previewed that the coalition is working with legislators "on a package of reform for local zoning, and we hope that we can have those in a spot where when they come back in January, we can get them introduced and moved through the process.
"Next year we run into an election year, and so it becomes an even crazier season than we saw this year," she said.
As for something that was signed into law this year that could negatively impact housing in Michigan, she pointed to Public Act 104 of 2023 – or SB 14 – undoing the ban on Michigan environmental regulations from being stricter than those enforced by the federal government.
Without a breakdown specific to Michigan, Crandall described how it can cost builders from throughout the country $94,000 to meet regulatory costs. She summarized that stricter, more expensive regulations on the housing construction industry can result in homes becoming less attainable in Michigan.
"I like to celebrate our victories where I can, but that would be one that if local municipalities or the state wanted to go stricter than federal guidelines on something that impacts residential construction could have a huge impact on us," she said.
