A housing void that needs filling

Of the 28 buyers with whom I'm currently working (a loose term that is inclusive of everyone that I'm doing searches for and to whom I send listings), at least half are looking for the same thing - affordable housing. They have me searching in the $100-150,000 range, usually for 2 or 3 bedrooms with 1 or 1 1/2 baths. Usually they say that they would like 1,000 Sq Ft or more. The thing is that there are very few houses in the immediate area around Milford that fit those criteria and that are decent. There are a number of "dumpster queens" (houses that you would need to back a dumpster up to immediately and start ripping it apart to rebuild) and a few nicer, habitable homes in the Village and the surrounding area, but very few.

It seems that all of the builders went upscale (and now many went broke). In the 1950's and 60's there were subs built in Milford with affordable housing (let's just loosely define that as houses selling for under $200,000) - subs like Bonnie Highlands and Fairview Hills. I checked today and there were only 5 houses for sale in Milford for under $150,000. Most of the listings from the Bonnie Highlands and Fairview Hills subs are in the $150-200,000 range now.

A lot of this is understandable. Milford, at lease the Village of Milford, is pretty well built out. There are a couple of developments going on within the Village limits; but, they've apparently stalled out due to the economy and the fact that they too were aimed at the more upscale buyers - high $200K's and above. So what's a young couple just starting out to do? Where have all of the entry level builders gone and is there any hope that someone will fill the void?

I believe that both the builders and local governments have a role in solving this problem. I haven't looked at the zoning maps or the Master Plan for the Village or the township lately, but I suspect that there is little push for affordable housing (it might be listed under the stigmatized heading of "low income housing"). I certainly believe, based upon what I've seen people get permission to build on Village lots, that the zoning codes would not preclude placing lower cost modular homes on lots within the Village or Township limits; and that may provide a part of the answer. Of course standard lots (66 by 132 feet) themselves, within the Village limits, are going for anywhere from $70,000 to $110,000, depending upon location; so, that doesn't leave much for a house.

I could hear the collective groan when I mentioned modular homes, but quite honestly they most often better built than most of what's on the market at the same price point. There is a common push back that says that they don't "fit" into the look of the area; but that's mostly from snooty busybodies who fancy themselves to be the saviors of us all. You can buy modular homes with almost any look these days. Now, let me quickly state that I'm not pushing modular homes. I just don't see any local builders with any interest to put up affordable stick-built homes. The newest generation that is now entering the home-buying market can't afford the 2000+ Sq Ft, 3-car garage, granite gourmet kitchen, $250,000+ homes that they all want to build. Maybe a well-planned, likely fairly dense sub of nicely done modular homes would help these buyer get started. Just a thought. Let me hear from you.