We can't wait any longer to address Michigan's housing crisis.
While the total value of stocks has grown faster than the total value of real estate over the past several decades, property ownership is still the foundation of the American Dream. In the above graph, you can see that the top 10% of income earners own 87.2% of all stocks, but only 43.9% of all real estate.
As you have personally experienced, Michigan and our country as a whole are facing a housing crisis. Even though interest rates are lower than they were in the 1980s and 1990s, mortgages have never been more unaffordable. The average mortgage payment in our country is 40% of total household income. This is twice as high as it was ten years ago!
As difficult as it is for many homeowners to keep up with mortgage payments and property taxes, it's also difficult for many renters. For every year in this century, rent increases have dramatically outpaced income increases. This means tenants have less money to save toward a future down payment. Combined with historic levels of credit card debt and student debt, many Michiganders are seriously struggling to build a pathway to wealth.
To fix this, Roman has a plan to fill Michigan's housing shortage.
Train Builders
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The median builder in Michigan is 58 years old. We must invest in earn-as-you-learn apprenticeships and create public-private partnerships to ensure every young Michigander following the steps to become a licensed building contractor has a straightforward path to employment. We need a new generation to build their careers while building up Michigan.
Build More Homes
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Today, the math often doesn't work to build single-family and middle-market housing. That means state policy has to realign incentives — for both builders and municipalities.
For builders, we can redirect construction incentives toward middle-market and attainable homeownership, making it financially viable to build the homes working families actually need rather than only luxury units and rentals.
For municipalities, we can create a property tax backfill fund that compensates communities for approving attainable homes — calibrated to each community's own home values, and designed to work with local government rather than around it. Respecting local control and character means removing fiscal disincentives, not issuing mandates from Lansing.