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By Giulia Carbonaro
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Housing affordability in Michigan is shaping up to be a major issue in the state’s upcoming Senate election which will see progressive Abdul El-Sayed face rival Republican Mike Rogers after winning the Democratic primary this week.
Like much of the Midwest, Michigan is considered a relatively affordable housing market. The median price of a typical home in the state was $293,956 in May, according to the latest Redfin data, lower than the national average of $398,771.
But even as homes remain much cheaper than in most of the country, Michiganders’ wages can hardly keep up. The median household income in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was $72,875 in 2024—the latest year for which data is available.
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Stepping on the property ladder is difficult for Michiganders and many do not even get this opportunity, as more than half renters in the state (51 percent) are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to the 2024 Michigan Statewide Housing Needs Assessment.
With an estimated 1.1 million renting households in the state, that makes for more than 550,000 cost-burdened households.
"It is no secret that Michigan and the broader U.S. economy face a severe housing affordability crunch. State officials estimate a deficit of roughly 119,000 housing units, driven by decades of underbuilding and aging stock," Marty P. Jordan, an assistant professor of political science and director of the Master of Public Policy Program at Michigan State University, told Newsweek.
"Housing affordability is absolutely on many voters' minds," he said.
El-Sayed, a former public health official, won the Democratic nomination after a campaign that focused on affordability, and putting the goal of lowering the cost of living front and center of his agenda. Rogers, a former law enforcement officer, has zeroed in on one issue: expanding homeownership in the state.
That makes housing affordability—a problem that is getting ever more pressing in the U.S. as millions have been squeezed to the sidelines of the market by rising costs since the pandemic—the issue that could decide the fate of one of the nation’s key swing states.
According to CNBC’s latest All-America Economic Survey, housing costs are the top political issue among voters aged 18 to 34—the same age cohort that has been largely cut off from the massive growth in equity enjoyed by homeowners since 2019 and which is now struggling to step onto the property ladder.
This same category has the potential to decide the results of the 2026 terms, as an estimated nearly 50 million Americans aged 18 to 29 will be eligible to vote in November, 8 million more than in 2024.
These are also the voters that both El-Sayed and Rogers know they have to court if they hope to win the November race.
In a recorded campaign message released in late July, El-Sayed told voters: "I believe you deserve a home. Too many Americans are priced out of the most basic necessity of shelter."
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In a statement reported by the Michigan Advance in February, Rogers said that focusing on housing affordability was important for "families, young families, people who are getting out of college, or getting their skilled trade certificates and actually building things for a living."
He added: "We want everyone to participate in the American dream, and a big part of that American dream is buying a house and starting to create that equity growth that happens over a lifetime."
Newsweek contacted El-Sayed’s and Rogers’ campaigns for comment by email on Thursday.
El-Sayed’s Plan To Fix the State’s Housing Affordability Crisis
El-Sayed has framed housing as part of a broader affordability and inequality challenge in the state, including offering property-tax relief to seniors struggling to remain in their homes due to rising bills.
Speaking at a polling place at Salina Intermediate School in Dearborn on Wednesday, he said: "People are sick and tired of not being able to afford their groceries or pay their rent or believe they could ever own a home."
This is something that all Democrats have in common, he added, as reported by Politico, responding to claims that he has managed to attract "normie" Democrats to his side. "Frankly, I think that’s true of Republicans, which is why I’m going to beat Mike Rogers by seven," he added.
One of El-Sayed’s goals is to offer property-tax relief to senior homeowners in the state. While Michigan’s property taxes have risen by just 2.6 percent over the past decade, MLive reported, total property tax collections have jumped from $13.5 billion in 2015 to $21.6 billion in 2025, based on data from the Michigan Treasury.
El-Sayed’s Aging Affordably in America (AAA) Plan would create a federal framework for state-level property tax freezes, among other things—building a strong social safety net for Michigan seniors.
"Michiganders deserve a future where retirement doesn’t mean anxiety and financial stress," El-Sayed said in a statement. "But as they privatize more of Medicare, strip down Social Security for parts, and make aging less affordable every year, we need big, structural changes. It’s time for an America where our seniors can age with dignity, and the Aging Affordably in America Plan does just that."
But El-Sayed has also directly addressed first-time buyers and renters. In the same recorded message published last month, he said Michigan needs "a building boom" to fix its housing affordability crisis.
"To make that happen, we need to massively invest in building new housing in communities across the state, and to stand up against all of those unfair regulations that are making it way too hard to build affordable housing in America," he said.
El-Sayed has also vowed to ban large corporations from owning homes at all, blaming them for speculating on Michiganders’ housing stock; support federal legislation to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software that allows corporate landlords "to collude to raise rent"; require Big Tech companies like Airbnb and Vrbo to pay special housing dislocation fees for the housing stock they occupy in local communities; and fight unfair evictions from corporate landlords.
Rogers’ Promise To Restore the American Dream of Homeownership
Rogers, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, has vowed to restore homeownership as a key part of the American dream.
Specifically, Rogers is planning to offer first-time buyers assistance with down payment by expanding 529 plans to cover first-time home down payments, allowing families to open and contribute to a 529 at any time, for any purpose, with tax-free savings, and helping them cover the first year of property taxes.
He has also vowed to help families build credit for rent payments by lowering future interest rates, bring down purchase prices by ending excessive regulations (which he blames on Democrats), and encourage new construction by adding incentives for homebuilders, making it 100% tax free in residential housing zones and replacing empty-lot zoning with such tax-free zones.
Similarly to El-Sayed, the Republican candidate has been trying to appeal to both Democratic and Republican voters in the state—a necessary strategy in the purple state.
"I know just as many Republicans as Democrats who want to buy their own homes. We want to give a vehicle like this that allows people to get into their first home, and this is a powerful vehicle to do that," he said in a statement reported by the Michigan Advance.
How Do the Two Plans Compare?
"As the Senate race highlights, translating complex economic realities into sound public policy is difficult. To evaluate both candidates' proposals, we must look closely at the math of modern homebuilding," Jordan said.
"Chronically low supply collides with high construction and financing costs. In Michigan, building a new home easily spans from $300,000 to over $500,000," he continued.
"Federal tariffs on lumber and other construction materials, as well as immigration raids reducing the available workforce, have only exacerbated the problem. Even with tax credits designed to boost affordability, modest two-bedroom condos in lower-cost cities like Lansing [Michigan's capital] still cost developers around $180,000 per unit to build," he added.
Weighing in on El-Sayed's promise to ban large corporations from buying homes in Michigan, Jordan said public debates frequently lean on "easy scapegoats" to explain high housing prices, but the data often tells a different story.
"While venture capitalists and large corporate investors draw intense scrutiny, these buyers account for only about 2 percent of the single-family market. They are a minor factor compared to the massive deficit in new construction," Jordan said.
"Similarly, short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo place upward pressure on local housing markets," he added. "Yet, blunt instruments like special dislocation taxes would likely just pass higher costs straight down to consumers."
"The core bottleneck remains structural. High interest rates raise borrowing costs for builders and buyers alike, pushing homeownership out of reach for working-class families and first-time buyers," he continued.
While both candidates have rolled out plans to tackle the hurdles he describes, each platform "carries distinct policy strengths and blind spots," Jordan said.
"Mike Rogers focuses on regulatory reform, homebuilder incentives, and innovative credit-building pathways. Allowing families to build credit through timely rent payments, for example, hits many of the right notes," he said. "However, his proposals to expand 529 savings accounts for housing down payments largely benefit wealthier families with existing savings."
"Furthermore, 100 percent tax-free construction zones raise serious questions about long-term municipal revenue loss," Jordan continued.
On the other side, El-Sayed has emphasized regulatory reform and economic security. According to Jordan, a Renter's Bill of Rights could help protect tenants from sudden displacement, but sweeping tenant regulations "risk driving up rental costs and pushing smaller, independent landlords out of business."
Jordan is also skeptical of El-Sayed's broad proposals for universal property-tax freezes for all senior citizens, which he said risks "starving local and state governments of essential revenues for schools and infrastructure unless backed by robust federal reimbursements."
To solve Michigan's housing affordability crisis, municipalities and residents must embrace aggressive zoning reform, according to Jordan—that is the only sure way out.
"Ending exclusionary zoning allows 'missing middle' housing like duplexes and townhomes in traditional neighborhoods. This shift can be supported by preapproved architectural blueprints that cut down on the time it takes to receive permits," Jordan said.
"Additionally, scaling up modular and prefabricated construction can drastically slash labor and material expenses. These steps should be paired with an expansion of federal safety nets, such as Section 8 housing vouchers. Bolstering capital for Community Development Financial Institutions will also support local developers," he continued.
Jordan added, "Together, these measures could foster a genuine housing boom that actually delivers affordable homes to families who need them most."
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Ben Kelly and Robert Greenall
Update 8/7/26, 3:59 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Marty P. Jordan.
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