county area that we represent. Our spring Parade of Homes event featured 188 homes, and the fall Parade of Homes had 99 entries — the highest number in 10 years. Both events saw high traffic of interested buyers.
Biggest source of concern for builders:
The biggest challenge has been the cost and availability of land for development. We have a great deal of no-growth sentiment to contend with in this area, and local communities are looking to builders for much of their income through informal “impact fees.”
It’s a frustrating situation because, not long ago, we were consistently rated as one of the most affordable housing markets in this region and in the country. That was about 15 years ago. Today, we don’t even show up in the top 25, and that’s tied to the regulatory environment. Community leaders were shocked to learn recently about the degree to which we’ve fallen off the affordability scale.
Market trends:
We’re having some challenges finding enough small lots for building starter homes. If that wasn’t an issue, our builders could sell at the lower end of the market all day long. Another concern has been for the middle-income segment, because Michigan’s economy was hit hard in the last recession due to our large industrial base. It’s a diversified base, but this is still a challenge as some companies have pulled out of the state altogether.
There’s definitely been some rebound lately, but it’s been surprising how strong the housing market has remained all along. We’ve been using the term “cautious optimism” to describe builders’ outlook — and it has been a very good and busy year for most. In fact, remodelers have probably had the greatest challenges because more people are buying new homes rather than renovating their existing ones.
As for a trend that’s gaining momentum, a number of builders are getting into the “New Urbanism” concept and we’re trying to get the public to take a look at that. That entails smaller lots, narrower streets, higher densities and mixed-use plans that make a community more "walkable" and expand housing options for buyers with diverse incomes. We haven’t had much of that kind of development here, the main challenge being to get communities to accept smaller lots. They mostly just want higher-end homes (which generate higher tax revenues). We’re very interested in expanding the array of affordable housing options, but it can be (and has been) an uphill battle.
Mark Your Calendar for NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference
Get the latest forecasts on housing starts, project budgets and other economic bellwethers of the housing industry at NAHB's Fall Construction Forecast Conference at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 27. Click here for more information.
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