According to data the US Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis collects, the median home size of houses for sale in June 2024 in Washtenaw County was 2,188 square feet. The most recent sales data, collected by the National Association of Realtors, shows the average price per square foot in Washtenaw County was $270. If one can extend the average listing price and the average price per square foot, the average listing price county-wide would be $590,760.
The average listing price in Ypsilanti was about $223,600. The average listing price in Ann Arbor was $687,700. If that seems shocking to you, Ann Arbor has a lot of high-dollar homes that weigh on the average.
Of those homes that sold recently, 21.5% of them had one bathroom. The number of bathrooms is significant because it identifies either old construction, “small” construction (like a condo), or a residence that was built as a so-called starter home. Those homes were intended for buyers who are just starting out. But at an average square footage price of $241, even the smallest, simplest homes are becoming unaffordable in Washtenaw County.
Maybe Washtenaw County just isn’t a “starter county” anymore. Maybe it is now a destination county – a place where you arrive after you’ve established yourself. But that comes with tradeoffs. We have universities here that generate a ton of young adult workers – for other places. We don’t get to hang onto the talent we develop because we’ve built our county as a net exporter of the one thing we need more than just about anything else: a prime-age workforce.
That doesn’t seem like a good strategy. It seems like a good way to get left behind economically. And it has the makings of a pretty hard landing.
WCC could make Washtenaw County more attractive
Right now, we specialize in developing the economies of other places. That works as long as the students believe that there’s something they can get out of education. A growing number of high school students and high school graduates are questioning the value of a higher education when looking at the big picture.
Worse, their parents are throwing in the towel when it comes to paying for the cost of a post-secondary education. A middle-class family can’t afford to educate all of their children. Their children can’t afford to take on large student loan debt. Community colleges don’t provide a pathway to the middle class.
One doesn’t need to look farther than the real estate listings in Washtenaw County to know that life doesn’t start here for most people. It’s not a place to have a family because it’s simply too expensive.
Washtenaw Community College could play a role in rectifying that, but instead, the administration has chosen to limit the value and benefits of its academic programs. I’m not sure why this is the strategy, but then again, I’m also not sure why we’re still paying for that.
Photo Credit: Eric Allix Rogers
