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