Chapter 5:

Housing Profile

This section of the plan details the characteristics of the Suttons Bay Township housing stock by structural type, occupancy, age, and value characteristics; reviews recent building permit activity; assesses housing affordability; and, projects future housing needs. The majority of the data presented within this chapter has been gathered from the 1990 U.S. Census, which, for the majority of elements is the most recent published data available. Where appropriate, the data described in this chapter is benchmarked to county demographics.

Housing structural type

Data in Table 8 compare the type of structures that existed in the township and county respectively for years 1980 and 1990. Overall, the township housing stock is characterized by single‑family homes.

Table 8 1980 and 1990 Year-Round Housing Unit Comparison
Units per Structure	Suttons Bay Twp.
	1980		1990		Change 1980-1990
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent
1-unit	476	82.6	608	82.5	132	27.7
2-4 units	28	4.9	25	3.4	(3)	(10.7)
5 or more units	27	4.7	24	3.3	(3)	(11.1)
Mobile home/other	45	7.8	80	10.9	35	77.8
Total	576	100.0	737	100.0	161	28.0

Units per Structure	Leelanau County
	1980		1990		Change 1980-1990
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent
1-unit	7,376	81.3	9,679	86.6	2,303	31.2
2-4 units	474	5.2	257	2.3	(217)	(45.8)
5 or more units	606	6.7	173	1.5	(433)	(71.5)
Mobile home/other	617	6.8	1,062	9.5	445	72.1
Total	9,073	100.0	11,171	100.0	2,098	23.1
Source: 1980 and 1990 U.S. Census

In 1990, 82.5 percent of the homes in Suttons Bay Township were of the one‑family variety. Multiple-family residential units accounted for 6.7 percent of the township’s housing stock, while mobile homes, trailers and others represented 7.7 percent. The most significant change in the township’s housing stock between 1980 and 1990 was the increase in the number of mobile homes/trailers/other (77.8 percent). Mobile homes now comprise 10.9 percent of the Township’s entire housing stock compared to 7.8 percent in 1980.

The county housing stock can also be characterized as primarily single family in make-up. Multiple family units are proportionately the smallest unit type among all structures in both the Township and Leelanau County. This is especially true at the county given the decrease in the number of multiple family units between 1980 and 1990.

Like the Township, Leelanau County has seen the stock of mobile homes significantly increase in both real and relative terms. In 1980, mobile homes comprised 6.8 percent of the county housing stock. By 1990, the combination of increased mobile homes and decreases in the stock of multiple family units resulted in mobile homes climbing to 9.5 percent of the county housing stock.

Housing occupancy

Occupancy characteristics are presented in Table 9. According to the 1990 census, there were 588 housing units available for year‑round living. Nearly eight out of every ten units (78.2 percent) were occupied. Out of the 576 occupied units, 77.4 percent were owner-occupied, and 22.6 percent were rental units.

In 1990, 21.8 percent of the township's total housing stock were vacant. Of the vacant units, half (50.3 percent) were used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional purposes. The next largest category of vacant housing was for migrant workers. The “other vacant” housing category refers to non-housing structures being used for residential purposes. These include campers, trailers, vans, boats and rail cars. It is most likely that these are used on a seasonal basis. This category includes 32 units or 19.9 of the vacant housing stock.

As a general rule, a 5 percent vacancy rate is desirable. Such a vacancy rate permits residents moving into the area a choice of housing which is immediately available for occupancy. In 1990, the stock of vacant units for sale or for rent in Suttons Bay Township was less than one percent of the entire housing stock, and just 3.1 percent of the total vacant housing.

Table 9 1990 Occupancy Characteristics
Category		Number	Percent of Total Units	Percent of Occupied Units
Total occupied housing units		576	78.2	100.0
	Owner-occupied	446	60.5	77.4
	Renter-occupied	130	17.7	22.6
Vacant housing units		161	21.8	100.0
	For rent	4	0.5	2.5
	For sale	1	0.1	.6
	Rented/sold not occupied	7	1.0	4.3
	For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use	81	11.0	50.3
	For migrant workers	36	4.9	22.4
Other vacant^a		32	4.3	19.9
Total housing units		737	100.0	--
^a Includes non-housing used for residential: rail cars, boats, trailers and campers. Source: 1990 U.S. Census

Age of structures

Table 10 details the age of township housing structures by year of construction. In 1990, over two-thirds of the township’s housing stock had been constructed after 1970. Significantly, over 40 percent of the housing stock was constructed since 1980.

Table 10 Age of Structure 1990
	Number	Percent
1980 to March 1990 1970 to 1979 1960 to 1969 1950 to 1959 1940 to 1949 1939 or earlier	300 191 73 37 24 100	41.3 26.3 10.1 5.1 3.3 13.8
TOTAL	725	100.0
Source: 1990 U.S. Census

The age of a house is one factor used to evaluate the structural quality of the building. The average life span of a house is 50 years, depending upon the quality of original construction and maintenance. The data show that 22.2 percent of the homes are now 50-years of age or older. By the end of the planning period, one-third of the 1990 housing stock will be at least 50 years old. These homes may require regular maintenance to remain structurally sound.

Housing values

As detailed in Table 11, the majority (57.0 percent) of specified owner-occupied home values in Suttons Bay Township are between $50,000 and $99,999. About 10 percent of owner-occupied homes in the Township were identified as having a value less than $50,000.The median value of specified owner-occupied housing units in the Township is $82,700, which is 11.6 percent higher the county median value of $73,100 and 26.7 percent higher than the state median value of $60,600.

Just over half (53.8 percent) of specified renter-occupied housing units have a contract rent between $250 and $499 while 41.6 percent are rented for under $250.The median contract rent for specified renter-occupied housing units in 1990 is $288. This figure is lower than the county and state median contract rents of $322 and $343 respectively.

Table 11 1990 Comparative Distribution of Housing Values
Financial Characteristics	Suttons Bay Twp.		Leelanau County
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent
Owner-occupied units ^a	286	100.0	3,417	100.0
Less than $50,000 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 or more	27 163 34 18 44	9.4 57.0 11.9 6.3 15.4	678 1,768 446 221 304	19.8 51.7 13.1 6.5 8.9
Median	$82,700		$73,100
Renter-occupied units	173	100.0	997	100.0
Less than $250 $250 to $499 $500 to $749 $750 to $999 $1,000 or more	72 93 7 0 1	41.6 53.8 4.0 0.0 0.6	244 530 97 4 122	24.5 53.2 9.7 0.4 12.2
Median	$288		$322
^aSpecified housing units include only one-family houses on less than 10 acres without a commercial establishment or medical office on the property. Source: 1990 U.S. Census

Recent Residential Construction Activity

Data in Table 12 itemizes the number of building permits issued since March 1990 by housing type. In total, 134 permits have been issued with the vast majority being for single-family residences (123).

Seven permits have been issued for modular or mobile homes and four permits were for multiple-family residential units. Records do not distinguish between seasonal or year-round units.

Table 12 1990-1997 Residential Construction Activity
Category	90^a	91	92	93	94	95	96	97^b	Total
Single-family	15	12	17	13	18	21	18	9	123
Multiple-family	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	4
Modular or mobile home	1	1	3	0	0	2	0	0	7
Total	16	13	20	15	18	23	18	11	134
^aEstimate ^bAs of August 20, 1997 Source: Suttons Bay Township Building Activity Report

Housing affordability

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has developed a standard measure to determine the affordability of housing in a community and the level of excessive housing cost burden on households. Generally, households that spend an excess of 30 percent of income for housing are seen as expending more than is financially sound, which puts that household at risk for economic hardship. Table 13 summarizes these characteristics for the Township.

The selected monthly owner costs that were obtained for this analysis included mortgages, real estate taxes, fire, hazard and flood insurance and utilities. In the case of condominiums and mobile homes, association fees and site rent were also included. Out of the 286 specified owner-occupied households in 1990, nearly one-quarter, 23.1 percent, were paying 30 percent or more of their income on these housing costs. Out of the 66 households in these cost brackets, 50 households (75 percent) earned less than $20,000.

Among 115 specified renter-occupied households, housing costs of 101 were analyzed by the census. Nearly half of these household, 47.5 percent, spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. All of the 45 households represented in this group earned less than $20,000.

Table 13 1990 Housing Affordability
Housing Cost as a Percent of Household Income for Owner-Occupied Units
Income Category	Less than 20		20-24		25-29		30 - 34		More than 35		Total
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.
< $10,000	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	62.0	31
$10,000- $19,999	27	16.8	3	7.5	2	10.5	8	50.0	11	22.0	51
$20,000 $34,999	37	23.0	21	52.5	9	47.5	7	43.8	2	4.0	76
$35,000- $49,999	43	26.7	10	25.0	4	21.0	1	6.2	6	12.0	64
> $50,000	54	33.5	6	15.0	4	21.0	0	0	0	0	64
Subtotal	161	56.3	40	14.0	19	6.6	16	5.6	50	17.5	286
Housing Costs as a Percent of Household Income for Renter-Occupied Units
Income Category	Less than 20		20-24		25-29		30 - 34		35 greater		Total
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.
< $10,000	7	16.7	0	0	0	0	3	100	29	64.4	39
$10,000- $19,999	7	16.7	5	62.5	3	100	0	0	16	35.6	31
$20,000- $34,999	18	42.8	3	37.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	21
$35,000- $49,999	6	14.3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
> $50,000	4	9.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Subtotal	42	41.7	8	7.9	3	2.9	3	2.9	45	44.6	101
Source: 1990 U.S. Census

Housing unit projections

Housing unit projections are based on three components. First, the future population must be projected. Second, the number of housing units needed to house the population must be calculated based on the projected persons per household and vacancy figures. Third, an estimate of the existing structures which are expected to become substandard and replaced during the planning period must be made.

Projections indicate that the population of Suttons Bay Township will be 2,881 by 2020. In addition, the number of persons per household is estimated to decline to approximately 2.60. Conservatively, one housing demolition is projected per year.

Using these three factors (i.e., a projected population of 2,881; an estimated persons per household figure of 2.60; and an assumed demolition rate of one unit per year), 562 dwelling units (532 new and 30 replacements) will need to be added to the occupied housing stock between 1990 and 2020 to accommodate the predicted population. This computes to an average of 18.7 dwelling units per year from 1990 to 2020. This is slightly greater than the annual average of 17 units set thus far in the 1990's. This figure, however, does not include construction of seasonal or migrant homes in the Township. Table 14 details the figures used to make this projection.

Table 14 Housing Unit Requirements, 2020
Category	1990	2020	Change 1990-2020
			Number	Percent
Total population	1,589	2,881	1,292	81.3
Persons per household	2.76	2.60	(0.16)	5.8
Total occupied units	576	1,108	532	92.4
Vacancy rate (percent)	0.6	5.0	NA	NA
Total year-round units	591	1,166	575	97.3
Source: 1990 U.S. Census, Table 1 and consultant estimates.