Utah is in a housing crunch. One priority state legislative leaders laid out at the beginning of the 2022 general session was affordable housing. Now, they’ve got a few things in play to address that. KUER politics reporter and State Street co-host Emily Means joined host Caroline Ballard to go through what’s on the table for affordable housing.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Caroline Ballard: I know people who are looking to either rent or to buy, to move in some capacity, and it is tough out there right now. This is a very big question, but what is going on with affordable housing?
Emily Means: Yeah, it’s a pretty difficult situation here in the state. A report from the Utah Foundation shows housing costs increased 29% from September 2020 to September 2021 — so just over the course of a year. There are a couple of big factors that play into Utah’s housing crisis. One is that the state has seen a lot of growth, and the supply of affordable housing options just has not kept up with that demand. Another thing is that Utah’s wage growth hasn’t risen as fast as housing prices. Now, Republican leaders have chosen to focus on the supply and demand part of this issue.
CB: What does the Legislature want to do about that?
EM: There is a really big push for funding this year. Gov. Spencer Cox had recommended $228 million go toward affordable and deeply affordable housing. A lot of that came from federal pandemic relief money. Basically, they want to use that money to build more units all across the state. But this is one-time money, so it’s not an ongoing investment.
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