Whatâs driving Utahâs housing crisis? Itâs not what you think, says economist.
Low wages are the real culprit, he says, even as lawmakers prepare to spend millions to construct more affordable homes.
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) A home for sale in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. With Utah poised to spend millions on affordable housing, a top analyst says stagnating incomes are more of a driver in the state s current crisis than a lack of housing. | Updated: 1:56 a.m.
Utahâs housing crisis may be more about shrinking paychecks than a shortage of homes.
As state lawmakers met Tuesday in advance of spending millions of pandemic-relief cash to encourage more affordable housing construction and other projects, a top analyst told them that a lack of supply isnât the Beehive Stateâs most pressing housing issue and urged them to look also at ways of boosting incomes for Utahâs working families.
Utahâs housing crisis may be more about shrinking paychecks than a shortage of homes.
As state lawmakers met Tuesday in advance of spending millions of pandemic-relief cash to encourage more affordable housing construction and other projects, a top analyst told them that a lack of supply isnât the Beehive Stateâs most pressing housing issue and urged them to look also at ways of boosting incomes for Utahâs working families.
âWe canât build our way out of this,â David Fields, housing economist with the state Department of Workforce Services, testified on Utahâs Capitol Hill. âThe housing market is more nuanced than the perceived condition of a housing supply constraint.â
DOH and DHS present merger update to legislature Patrick Jones | May 18, 2021
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The Utah Department of Health (DOH) and the Utah Department of Human Services (DHS) gave an update on the merging of the two departments to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee today in their first meeting since the end of session.
Richard Saunders, executive director of DOH and Tracy Gruber, executive director of DHS discussed their plan to meet the December 1st deadline, which requires the departments to present a completed implementation plan to Gov. Spencer Cox.
The two departments have created a Steering Committee with seven voting members and 29 active members who are a part of DOH, DHS and the Department of Workforce Services (DWS). According to Saunders and Gruber, this committee’s purpose is to guide the transition plan with voices from all those who are affected.