Amid widening evidence that Utah’s affordable housing crunch is getting worse, business and community leaders met Thursday in Salt Lake City for the first of several “big tent” meetings to address the problem.
The Salt Lake Chamber is launching a major public-awareness campaign, meant to highlight dramatically rising home prices, shrinking affordability and a historic gap in Utah between the number of family households and housing units. That deficit is now estimated at about 250,000 homes.
Derek Miller, chamber president and CEO, called the housing shortage “one of the greatest challenges we face.” Failing to address it, he said, threatens both Utah’s quality of life and its record-breaking economic growth.