MSHDA outlines statewide housing production, lawmakers and advocates press supply-side reforms

Amy Hovey, executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity on April that MSHDA has substantially increased its funding and activity to address housing shortages across Michigan.

Hovey said the agency put “over $2,100,000,000 into housing” in the last fiscal year and described a mix of federal and state dollars being used to support homeownership, rental production and homeless services. She highlighted the agency’s mortgage products, down-payment assistance pilots and state-funded incentives aimed at leveraging private investment into more housing units.

Hovey told the panel the state’s five-year production goal set by the governor was 15,000 units and said MSHDA is “hitting close to 67,000” on the metric the agency tracks using building permits. She said MSHDA’s recent activity has leveraged federal programs and private capital: the authority’s recent investment levels and state appropriations have supported multifamily development through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and helped fill financing gaps in the 4% LIHTC category.

MSHDA emphasized several specific programs…