PRESIDENT’S PEN
Change is Needed
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s the BIA and building industry proceed into 2022 and beyond, one thing is certain, change is needed across various aspects of our industry to achieve affordable housing.
Bob Yoakam
2022 BIA President Rockford Homes
More than 35% of Americans rent their primary residence with just over half of those Americans being considered rent burdened or spending more than 30% of their income on their rent. Central Ohio saw for-sale home prices increase 12.6% last year and are projected to rise another 6.3% in 2022. Affordability is an issue that is not only a central Ohio issue but an issue across all of America. In 2021, Columbus house sellers received an average of 102% of their list price, meaning all transactions averaged selling above their listing price. This is driven by a few factors but the largest factor, in my opinion, is supply. Builders simply cannot meet the demand for new housing in Columbus. The supply and demand factors play what is probably the largest role in affordability. When there is a scarcity of a product, material and labor costs rise and drive up the end users’ cost for the product itself. So what can be done? There are many factors that are simply not in our control at a local level, for example material availability and costs coming from all parts of the world. However, we do have the ability at the local level to influence change on the supply factor of the equation in our central Ohio region. Everyone lives and sleeps somewhere. Some people think that housing isn’t wanted amongst some or that yes, I want housing but just not here in my backyard. These types of notions are what has fueled to a large part our central Ohio housing supply shortage and affordability crisis.
In 2019, Minneapolis, Minn. was one of the first large metropolitan cities to essentially eliminate singlefamily zoning. In 2020, Portland, Ore.'s city council, seeing a similar need to increase their supply of residential housing units, voted to modify their residential zoning code to allow for more two, three and four residential units. Recently in October of 2021, the city of Seattle, Wash. voted to outright replace its single-family zoning designation term to neighborhood residential zones allowing for denser alternatives to housing. Lastly, in California we have seen the governor sign bill SB9 allowing for up to four dwelling units to be built on nearly all single-family zoned lots. Local municipal leaders – whether they are township trustees, village council members or city council members — working in conjunction with local developers, must partner with each other to achieve growth with the word ‘density’ being seen in a positive light rather than a negative light. We simply will not affect affordability change in our region unless we work toward achieving greater densities in our market, driving our supply up to meet the demand.
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