Page 15 - March-2023-FOCUS
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In 2020, the Lansing Regional Chamber have getting zoning approvals from local government
of Commerce and ten other regional for land use and the workforce shortage, which was a
organizations released the State of challenge pre-Covid and has become of bigger problem
the Region Report, a study conducted post-Covid.
by Anderson Economic Group that
compared the Lansing region to 11 “Then you throw in inflation and higher interest rates, and
similarly positioned regions around even though the demand is still there, the supply side has
the country in 42 key metrics. The been unable to match the economics of what it takes to
study concluded that Lansing must build a new house,” said Forsberg. “That’s how we have hit
grow the size of its private sector and Japinga this spot where it has become hard to build.”
its population base to compete more
effectively. Yet, when it came to the Among the hardest hit in the housing market are first-time
number of construction permits issued homebuyers. Rising costs and interest rates have increased
between 2014 and 2018, Lansing was the size of both the down payment needed and the size of
next to last among the 12 regions the mortgage to purchase a home, keeping many potential
compared in the research. customers on the sidelines.
“We have to face the challenge of
figuring out how we can update the BUILDER TRACK REPORT —
current housing stock and at the same LANSING AREA, 4TH QUARTER 2022.
time develop enough new housing to Kosloski
help attract more people for the jobs
we will have available in the region,”
said Steve Japinga, LRCC, senior vice
president for public affairs. “Look
at the Stadium District downtown
where the Chamber is located. That
started as an office building with retail
and condos. People started to come
downtown to live, and things expanded
with restaurants, nightspots, and a
grocery store. Soon it was a whole new Webber
neighborhood. We need to expand that
model throughout the region.”
Homebuilders Plagued by Labor Shortage, Supply
Chain Challenges, and Rising Prices
Like many industries, homebuilders have struggled to
secure the workers needed for each job, which, combined Source: Homebuilders Association of Greater Lansing
with supply chain challenges, have served to lengthen the
time to build homes and drive up costs.
“While supply chain issues still are creating some backlog,
the biggest challenge is the labor force,” said Cindy Kosloski, page 4
CEO, Home Builders Association of Greater Lansing. “A
career in construction is rewarding, good pay, and an
opportunity to work independently in many cases. We will
continue to encourage students to consider construction as
a career path.” “When you have an almost $100,000 increase in three years
in the median home value, that tells you how much upward
Forsberg says many of today’s challenges in housing pressure there is,” said Forsberg.
can be traced back to the last recession. Since 2009,
Forsberg says banks have been reluctant to provide Home Sales Challenges Include Low Inventory
financing on infrastructure for developers, which are
some of the largest expenses, especially in the early A recent report from the National Association of Realtors
portion of a project. He also cites the rising costs said that U.S. home sales dropped nearly 18 percent last
associated with government regulation which now year, the biggest annual decline since 2008, during the
account for 18 to 25 percent of the cost of a home. housing crisis. Like much of the rest of the nation, the
Forsberg says there are added challenges developers Lansing region’s real estate market has been hampered by
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