While Utah’s economy is positively bucking the national economic trend, we are also experiencing a significant challenge that has become a frequent kitchen counter conversation in almost every home. Obtaining attainable, affordable housing is one of Utah’s most urgent, serious, and complex challenges we are facing today.
I’ve been asked by the Speaker of the House to co-chair Utah’s Commission on Housing Affordability. As I represent the House of Representatives as co-chair along with Senator Lincoln Fillmore as co-chair from the Utah Senate, this Commission is aggressively digging into the root challenges, meeting with stakeholders throughout the state, exploring short and long-term solutions, and determining which policy and budget priorities the state should implement in the upcoming 2023 legislative session.
After spending hundreds of hours researching this topic in the past few months, meeting with leaders and stakeholders throughout the state, here are some sobering statistics (stats from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah):
· The median sales price for a home in Utah right now is $535,000.
· 71% of Utahans cannot afford a home that costs $535,000.
· 85-87% of renters cannot get into the housing market because of the high housing prices and interest rates.
· Contributing reasons: 1) there is more demand than supply, 2) Utah’s population is increasing, 3) city and county zoning policies are creating challenges, and 4) construction costs are increasing.
· The current supply of homes does not meet the demand. In 2021 alone, 31,035 additional new homes were needed (and not built) to keep up with demand.
· The demand for housing is going to increase. Projections show that 250,000 new homes will need to be built by 2030 to keep pace with the population increase. Of this, Utah County alone will need an additional 66,000 new homes by 2030.
· Utah’s population is increasing. Between 2020 and 2021, Utah’s population increased by 58,729 (59% from people moving to Utah and 41% by Utahans having moving children). 33% of this growth occurred in Utah County.
· Construction costs (materials and labor) increased 23% this past year compared to the previous year. As an example, a piece of plywood this past year increased from $14.40 to $48.80. This increase would be the comparable to a car costing $40K and then increasing to $257K in just 14 weeks.
These stats are staggering, and it is going to take the entire state working together to solve this current and long-term issue. Difficult and complex decisions are needing to be made by citizens, cities, counties, developers, and the state. I’m looking forward to working with you to help our House District 65 and the entire state continue to have prosperity going forward.
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