Jocelyn is the only candidate with a real plan to tackle Michigan’s housing shortage

Over the past month, Jocelyn Benson has been traveling the state, talking to Michiganders about the issues that keep them up at night, and sharing the second plank of her affordability agenda: her plan to lower the cost of housing and ensure Michiganders in every corner of the state can afford a home in the community where they live and work. Jocelyn is the only candidate for governor with a comprehensive plan to lower costs. 

Jocelyn’s plan will rapidly increase the supply of housing across the state, cut red tape and speed up permitting so homes can be built faster, create a statewide housing data system to show where the needs are, strengthen renter protections, and give communities more control over short-term rentals – all while partnering with local leaders to give residents the access to housing they need.

In case you missed it… 

In print:

Detroit Free Press: Jocelyn Benson pitches plan to address Michigan housing shortage

[Arpan Lobo, 3/2/2026] 

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson offered her pitch to address housing issues if elected Michigan’s next governor during a roundtable discussion in Grand Rapids on Monday, March 2.

“It’s clear to me if we want to keep our young people, our talented people here in Michigan, we have to ensure there are places for them to live," Benson said, flanked by local housing advocates and other officials.

Her plan calls for easing homebuilding permitting processes, expanding tax credits for first-time home buyers and banning private equity firms from buying homes in Michigan within the first 100 days they hit the market, among other proposals.

[...]

"It's a real economic development issue," she told reporters following the event. "When it comes to creating jobs, you can't create jobs if people can't afford to live in the communities they're working in."

MLive: Benson wants tax on short-term rentals, 100-day ban on private equity buying homes

[Danielle James, 3/2/2026] 

Benson, the Democratic frontrunner in the governor’s race, also shared new policies she said would free up housing stock.

Those include establishing a statewide system to track and tax short-term rentals and a ban on the sale of homes to private equity firms for the first 100 days they’re on the market.

[...]

“It’s part of the holistic approach to ensuring you get a tax credit or other types of support for that down payment,” Benson said of her pitch, “and that enables people to ensure they can become homeowners, grow that wealth and also be an active part of the community.”

Michigan Advance: Benson launches affordability-focused housing plan as advocates push for more state housing support

[Katherine Dailey, 3/2/2026] 

One key element of Benson’s plan is an expanded tax credit designed to help create opportunities for first-time homeowners. 

However, Benson also emphasized, the tax credit would support “not just first time homeowners who are trying to and assist them in trying to afford that down payment, but second time homeowners as well, as well as people moving up into the system and expanding their homes so that we can free up those first time homeowners opportunities.”

[...]

[State Representative] Skaggs also contrasted Benson’s plan with other candidates in the gubernatorial race, seeming to specifically dig at former Detroit mayor Mike Duggan, who is running as an independent. 

“Most local leaders across the state will tell you the same thing, this is the defining challenge of our time,” he said. “Knowing the problem isn’t enough, we have to be willing to act on it, even when it’s hard, even when we’re not sure where the answers are going to be, but we have to work on them, and not every leader has been willing to do that, including a certain mayor who is in this governor’s race.”

Bridge Michigan: Jocelyn Benson pitches housing plan with homebuyer tax credits, Airbnb tax

[Simon Schuster, 3/2/2026] 

Benson said she wants more homes built in Michigan and to boost affordable housing options for lower-income residents. 

“We need to eliminate a lot of red tape” around zoning, building requirements and inspections, she said.

[...]

Benson said Whitmer’s [State of the State] proposal is “an important one” but added “we want to build on that” by “eliminating a lot of the long-standing certification processes” in order to get housing developments breaking ground more quickly.

On the airwaves:

WZZM - Grand Rapids, MI: “Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants to lower housing costs. It's part of her campaign for Michigan governor. At a roundtable today she talked about her plan for affordability agenda which includes expanding a property tax credit for homebuyers and creating opportunities for first time home buyers. Benson says the state needs to be doing more to address the housing affordability crisis. … Benson's plan also focuses on streamlining the home building process so it's more affordable and faster to build a home here in Michigan.” 

WOOD TV - Grand Rapids, MI: “Gubernatorial candidate, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson met with housing and homeless advocates today at a campaign stop in Grand Rapids. Benson, a Democrat, says making housing more affordable, including for first-time home buyers, is one of her key campaign issues. … Benson says she supports not only cutting red tape, but state tax incentives to help potential homebuyers with down payments” 

WNEM – Flint, MI: “Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson visited Flint Tuesday as part of her campaign for governor, outlining her affordability agenda centered on housing and healthcare. [...] 

‘I’ve seen it as Secretary of State, where I’ve managed one of our state’s largest agencies and transformed it. Gone are the wait times, right? Gone are our inefficient services. Now we actually save people time and money by making it easier to renew your license,’ Benson said. ‘I want to make it as easy to get your access to healthcare, as easy to build a home, as easy to start a small business, as it is to get your license.’”

WLNS – Lansing, MI: “[Benson’s plan is] a multi pronged approach, combining a lot of ideas we've heard from other state leaders. … The plan includes cutting red tape and regulations, creating new tax credits for first time homeowners, and a new tax on short term rentals like Airbnbs. 

‘The next governor has to be prepared to use every tool in their toolbox in overseeing state government to drive down those costs.’ Benson likens the effort to streamline housing regulations to what she's already been able to do reforming the Secretary of State's office. ‘Right now, it can cost up to $90,000 to build a home in Michigan before you even put a brick in the ground. That's because of so many duplicative and onerous inspections and certifications. We can streamline a lot of that and actually reduce the cost and time that it takes to build increasing supply, and that overall is going to create more attainable housing.’

WYSM – Lansing, MI: “Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is rolling out a new housing plan as her gubernatorial campaign rolls on. Benson stopped at our studios Wednesday to talk about the plan to tackle its statewide housing shortage. She says her plan calls to streamline home building to lower costs and increase supply. It also includes tax credits for first and second time home buyers and those relocating for work. Benson also says she'd push a temporary ban on private equity firms buying homes, giving neighbors the first pick at affordable prices. 

‘Because a lot of what's actually going into these, these escalating costs right now are these out of state firms that's really just about creating fairness, a fair process of affordable homes and affordable house buying.’ Benson said the plan would be funded by cutting wasteful government spending, not raising taxes.”

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