Strong pent up demand for new construction, remodeling work and beyond is a welcome change following the pandemic shutdown that had Michigan building contractors sidelined for several months. The latest numbers show a nice rebound so far according to the Home Builders Association of Michigan. 
Housing permits for single-family homes in Michigan increased again in September despite the economic downturn, according to the association. A total of 1,588 permits for new single-family housing were issued in September of 2020 compared to 1,538 in September of 2019. A total of 10,537 single-family home permits have been issued across Michigan, from January through September of 2020.
Bob Filka, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Michigan says, “It is very encouraging that despite the economic shutdown earlier this year our numbers continue to rise back toward 2019 levels,” and adds, “There is strong pent-up demand for new housing and remodeling services in our state. Our members are extremely busy. In addition to pent up demand, low interest rates have helped our industry recover more quickly than we anticipated.”
In 2019, new home construction contributed a total of $4.25 billion to the state’s economy, contributing $836.4 million in taxes and other revenue for state and local governments and 54,372 jobs. Filka reports, “The renovation market is roughly double these amounts, and that has been driven by the lack of new housing being built in moderate price ranges. This has put tremendous pressure on our existing housing stock. Bidding wars for existing homes in moderate price ranges are being seen in markets all across the state. In normal or prior times, these trends would push more new home construction activity. But with limited production capacity, too few workers and rising building costs, we’ve not seeing that correlation now.”
The association chief warns, “We’ve got a burgeoning housing crisis in our state and community and policy leaders need to be looking at how to help spur more construction of homes the average Michigander can afford.”
To address the growing housing crisis Michigan faces, HBAM, along with numerous community, economic development and non-profit housing organizations called for a bi-partisan policy initiative earlier this summer.
Those recommendations can be found at this link: http://hbaofmichigan.com/#/housing-call-to-action
The Home Builders Association of Michigan is a professional trade association comprised of 22 local homebuilder associations around the state and their builder, subcontractor and supplier members. HBA of Michigan works to positively promote the building industry and impact legislative, regulatory and legal issues affecting housing affordability.
