Kalamazoo faces housing shortage after surplus

Kalamazoo, Michigan, once faced a housing surplus, with many abandoned and rundown homes. However, the situation has reversed, and the city now grapples with a housing shortage.

"The idea of a truly free housing market, where private developers work to satisfy the demands of families that acquire homes through their own grit, has always been a fiction." @ConorDougherty on breadth of the housing crisis and how policy fits in. https://t.co/pMMuchctGw

— Jeanna Smialek (@jeannasmialek) August 23, 2024

Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressed the issue in her recent speech, stating, “The rent is too damn high, and we don’t have enough damn housing. So our response is simple: ‘Build, baby, build!'”

"The problem for the Denneys and millions of other renters is that they are searching for homes that were never built." https://t.co/SoIrShOpSV

— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) August 23, 2024

The housing crisis, previously seen as a problem in high-cost cities, has spread nationwide.

The housing shortage is affecting all of us on a national level — even rural communities across the U.S. are beginning to feel the crisis.

We have to make it easier to build more housing. Otherwise, the squeeze will only continue. @nytimes https://t.co/S7u4XKa4Xx

— Regional Plan (@RegionalPlan) August 25, 2024

Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda, a data and consulting firm, said, “The Great Recession broke the U.S. housing market.” Double-income couples with good jobs are being priced out of homeownership, and homeless encampments have become a common sight. The high cost of housing and its social problems are among the few issues that unite Americans today.

Really good piece from @ConorDougherty on America's housing crisis. Not only do we not build enough housing, the cost of building housing is so much that its unprofitable for private developers to build middle class housing — and the problem is everywhere. https://t.co/oOJOyQVwVf

— Edward Russell (@ByERussell) August 23, 2024

Since the Great Recession, the U.S. has built too little housing to match population growth. Since 2010, builders have started about 1.1 million new homes annually, well below the 1.6 million needed.

Housing crisis hits Kalamazoo hard

The country now faces a worsening housing deficit each year. In Kalamazoo, housing prices have soared, affecting even middle-class families earning six figures. Michigan lawmakers are subsidizing developers to address the issue, but fixing it will take a long time. Housing has become a prominent national issue, discussed at both political conventions this summer. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton acknowledged the crisis during the DNC Convention. The market alone cannot solve the crisis due to insufficient home construction over the past 15 years. Government intervention, in the form of subsidies, is necessary to make housing more affordable. This transition is complex and requires considerable effort to change course.