(WXYZ) — Being able to buy a new home is one of the affordability issues many are dealing with right now. Some are struggling with saving for a down payment, affording high housing costs, and house-hunting with limited inventory.
I posted a question on our WXYZ Facebook page, asking, "Are you in the market to buy a home, but the growing affordability is making it increasingly difficult?" One of the many responses I got was from realtor Jeremy Alexander, who said "According to our national association, the average age of the first-time home buyer is 40!!!!"
And the National Association of Realtors says that the age of 40 is an all-time high, rising from the median age to 33 back in 2020. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is introducing bills in the state legislature in hopes of increasing housing inventory to help bring prices down.
I spoke with one local lawmaker behind the bills, along with an area realtor and a first-time homebuyer for their perspectives.
Watch Alicia's report below
Seth Marianos just got the keys to his very first home.
"Probably 90% of the homes that I looked at that I would consider living in, I realized I couldn't afford," Marianos said.
He found his new home in Milford, after living with his parents for eight months to help save up for a down payment.
"I was able to save the 80 percent of the paychecks I was getting once I moved back," Marianos told me.
State Representative Joe Aragona of Clinton Township is one of the lawmakers behind a bipartisan 9-bill package that was just introduced in the state house this month, that aims to help.
“What problems in Michigan's housing market are you trying to address?” I asked Aragona.
“There are a lot of fees associated with building a home. Right now, it's about $95,000 before you ever purchase a hammer, before you pay somebody to swing that hammer, before you buy two-by-fours or nails for them to swing a hammer at. It's $95,000 in regulatory costs, taxes, all that type of stuff," he replied.
The bipartisan plan focuses on ways to lower the cost to build new houses and apartments in Michigan, and reduce the timeline for developers.
Some of the proposed reforms would:
- Allow duplexes in areas zoned for single family residential
- Prohibit requiring more than 1 parking space per dwelling
- Prohibit setting a minimum lot size of more than 2,500 feet
- Prohibit setting a minimum dwelling size of more than 500 feet
- Establish setback standards
- Set a 60-day timeline to approve or deny building plans
“What we're really aiming for is also just putting more supply on the market, especially kind of in that middle market where people are either first- time home-buyers or just looking for a new housing unit," Aragona said.
I asked Remax First Broker Rob Scalici for his take on all this.
“I really, honestly didn’t see anything that’s going to make it more affordable for buyers," Scalici said. "Obviously, if they’re allowing duplexes or smaller houses or things like that to get built, yes, they’ll be less expensive because they’re smaller. But you’re getting less for your money. So, it’s not really making it more affordable. It’s just building a smaller house for a lesser price.”
Scalici thinks addressing rising property taxes and homeowners' insurance would help home buyers more. But what's the first-time home buyer's perspective?
“I am encouraged. I think, especially the deregulation of zoning and things that you mentioned, I think that would increase supply and then drive prices down, especially for people in my age group," Marianos told me.
Marianos is 23, well below the median age of 40. According to Aragona, more housing-related bills are expected to be introduced in the Michigan State House in the coming weeks, including some addressing property taxes, which Scalici said would help homebuyers more in the short-term.
We'll be tracking what happens in Lansing.
