What problem should Michigan's next Statewide Housing Plan tackle most aggressively? | Public Comment

Michigan Housing

Michigan's first Statewide Housing Plan was released in 2022 and runs through June 2027. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority is now developing SHP 2.0, with research, statewide public engagement, regional input, working groups, and a final plan scheduled for 2027. The new plan is intended to guide statewide housing strategy and measurable goals across different income levels and communities. That creates a statewide priority choice among increasing housing supply, lowering the cost of attainable housing, preserving existing homes, expanding pathways to homeownership, and addressing homelessness and severe housing instability. Michigan does not have one housing problem. Some places need more units, others have deteriorating homes, and many households struggle with rent, down payments, or homelessness. A statewide plan should be explicit about which bottleneck gets the strongest push instead of treating every goal as equally urgent.

What problem should Michigan's next Statewide Housing Plan tackle most aggressively?

Overall results

1

60% support · excluded by 3%

7

Michigan already has neighborhoods full of houses worth saving; repairing roofs, plumbing, lead hazards, and energy systems can preserve communities at lower cost than replacement.

7

Rehabilitation can reuse existing infrastructure and building materials instead of pushing all growth toward new land consumption.

2

50% support · excluded by 8%

7

The most severe housing failure is losing housing altogether; prevention, supportive housing, and faster pathways out of homelessness should anchor the plan.

3

46% support · excluded by 8%

7

Statewide policy can improve financing and incentives while helping local governments remove infrastructure or approval bottlenecks.

7

Chronic shortages cannot be solved only by subsidies; Michigan needs enough homes in places where people want to live and work.

4

46% support · excluded by 10%

7

A new unit does not solve a household's problem if rent or purchase costs remain far beyond its income.

7

Affordability programs should reach households too poor for new market-rate supply but not always served by deeply subsidized housing.

5

44% support · excluded by 13%

7

Ownership remains one of the main ways households build long-term stability and wealth, but down payments and prices increasingly keep younger households out.

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