Right now, too many Michiganders spend more than half their income on rent or a mortgage. Young people struggle to find affordable housing, and our housing stock is too old, with nearly half of all units in the state built before 1970.
Housing is a serious challenge, and we are taking it seriously here in Michigan.
While we?ve made great progress, we?re just getting started. Last month, I proposed my sixth balanced executive budget recommendation. This includes making the largest investment to building housing in Michigan history, using nearly $1.4 billion to build or rehabilitate 10,000 more homes. That?s 10 times what the State of Michigan invested in housing a decade ago.
We know that building more of every kind of housing?single-family homes, apartments, and mixed-use buildings?will expand supply and lower costs. It will also support tens of thousands of good-paying jobs in the skilled trades?from pipefitters and carpenters to bricklayers and roofers.
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I?ve been prioritizing building more housing since I took office. In 2022, I signed an executive order establishing the Michigan Statewide Housing Partnership as an advisory body within the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). They are responsible for developing a strategy to implement Michigan?s first Statewide Housing Plan, an initiative to provide affordable, accessible, and attainable housing for all in a community of one?s choice.
They set a goal to build or rehabilitate 75,000 new housing units in Michigan over the next 5 years. Since I took office, we?ve built or rehabilitated 34,000 housing units, supporting nearly 20,000 good-paying construction jobs.
Housing is about so much more than just a roof over your head. Housing builds generational wealth and forms the foundation for success in school, work, and life. Let?s work together to build more housing so every Michigander has an affordable place to call home.
Sincerely,
 Gretchen Whitmer
Governor
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