Tag Archives: U.S. Census

West Michigan’s post COVID-19 housing market changes, millennial top buyers

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Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau shows nationwide sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 0.6 percent in April. (Supplied)

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

In the wake of COVID-19, newly-released data shows an increase in new single-family homes, suburban development and millennial home buyers in West Michigan – a sign that the local economy is on the rebound.

Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau shows nationwide sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 0.6 percent in April, according to the National Association of Home Builders. More positive signs for West Michigan’s housing market: Improvenet.com earlier this week cited Grand Rapids as the second-highest market for millennials, and today, USA Today reported a growing number of new homes sales are happening in less crowded communities.

John Bitely, president of Rockford-based Sable Homes, West Michigan region’s third largest home builder, said internal data closely tracking the local home purchasing market is in line with these national and demographic home-buying trends.

“Throughout the past couple years, we’ve seen a continuing trend among new home buyers who want to build homes in areas outside the city of Grand Rapids,” he said. “Communities like Sparta, Byron Center, Newaygo, Caledonia and Cedar Springs are becoming the new hot spots for young home buyers. As we look ahead to the future, I think we’re going to see that continue.”

A survey by the National Association of Realtors found that 5 percent of members said the coronavirus pandemic was causing their clients to shift their sights away from cities to the suburbs, USA Today reported.

According to John Bitely, president of Rockford-based Sable Homes, areas outside of the City of Grand Rapids, such as Sparta, Byron Center, Newaygo, Caledonia and Cedar Springs, are becoming the new hot spots for young home buyers. (Supplied)

Sable Homes’ Country Meadows neighborhood in Sparta and developer North Ritchie LLC’s phase one of the new Genevieve Plat in Sand Lake, which Sable Homes will be the builder, are prime examples.

“We’ve had a great response from potential home buyers as they look for affordable housing in suburban neighborhoods, like Country Meadows in Sparta and the Genevieve Plat in Sand Lake,” Bitely said. “As more and more people continue to work out of their home, there is going to be a greater interest to live in suburban and rural areas.”

Karin Kay, sales manager at Sable Homes, said they are seeing another home buying trend: An increase in millennial home buyers.

Improvenet.com, an online resource for homeowners, cited metro Grand Rapids as the second-highest market for millennials with 19.5 percent of homes owned by those between the millennial age group (26-40 years old). Clarksville, Tennessee, led the pack with 23 percent of millennial home owners, while Sioux Falls, South Dakota, trailed behind Grand Rapids with 18.2 percent.

“Even as COVID-19 hit West Michigan, several of our 42 home purchases were by millennials,” Kay said. “There is a new housing demand throughout the country for young home buyers and we are definitely seeing that here in West Michigan.”

Additionally, Grand Rapids was found to be the seventh city having the most single millennial homeowners with 3.8 percent. Larger metropolitan cities like Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Boston were the top areas for single millennial home buyers. On average, this demographic group makes up about 2 percent of homeowners nationwide, according to Improvenet.

Low unemployment has U.S. Census looking for applicants

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The U.S. Census Bureau is currently taking applications for 2020 census positions. (Supplied)



By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

In 1790, it took about 650 U.S. marshals to complete the first decennial census. Two-hundred thirty years later, the U.S. Census will need a lot more than 650 people to complete the 2020 Census. 

And like many employers, the U.S. Census is finding it difficult to find qualified candidates. The Bureau has fallen short of its goal of more than two million applicants to fill the estimated 500,000 temporary, part-time census positions needed to complete this year’s census.  In fact, the only place in the United States not looking for census workers is the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, according to a recent press release from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

“With low unemployment, the Census Bureau is taking extraordinary efforts to attract enough applicants to fill nearly 500,000 positions this spring,” said Timothy Olson, Census Bureau associate for Field Operations.

Michigan is one of the states were census workers are most needed. Kent County has reached about 48.2 percent of its applicant goal while Ottawa County has done a little better, filling a little more than half of its applicant goal.

“Our aim is to reach interested applicants right now, inform them of updated pay rates in their area, and get them into the applicant pool to be considered for these critical jobs,” Olson said. “The hiring process occurs in stages, and we are encouraging everyone to apply right now before selections being in January and February.”


To learn more about or to apply for a position with the U.S. Census Bureau, go to 2020census.gov/jobs.



According to a press release from the U.S. Census Bureau, the positions, — many are enumerators, people hired to take the census of the population — offer competitive pay, flexible hours, paid trainings, and weekly paychecks. Pay rates for census takers in Michigan have increased, with a range from $14 to $25. Currently the rates for Kent County is $20 per hour and in Ottawa County, it is $18.50 per hour. Visit 2020census.gov/jobs to confirm or check on pay rates in other communities.

The positions are open to anyone who is 18 or older. Census takers will be hired to work in their communities and go door-to-door to collect responses from those who did not fill out their census questionnaire. The selection process starts this month with paid training taking place in March and April. After paid training, most positions will work between May and early July by going door-to-door to collect responses from households who have not responded online, by phone, or by mail. 

The U.S. Census is important not just because it counts the number of people living in a city, state or the country, but the results can have an impact on how billions of dollars in federal funds are allocated to local communities every year for the next 10 years. Some of the federally funded programs that use the census in determining allocations are community block grants, road funding, and school lunch programs. 

The U.S. Census also determines the number of seats a state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2010, the census showed the number of Michigan residents fell by .6 percent since 2000 with Michigan’s number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives being reduced from 15 to 14. The census also determines the number of Michigan House of Representative seats as well. 


For more information about the 2020 Census, visit 2020census.gov



By April 1, all U.S. households will receive an invitation to participate in the census. Residents will be able to respond one of three ways, online, by phone, or by mail. 

Starting in April, census workers will begin visiting college students who live on campus, people living in senior centers, and others who live among large groups of people. Census takers also begin conducting quality check interviews to help ensure an accurate count.

Starting in May, census workers will begin visiting homes that have not responded to the 2020 Census to make sure everyone is counted. 

The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be conducted every 10 years. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau must deliver apportionment counts to the President and the U.S. Congress in December. Redistricting counts will be sent to the states by March 31, 2021.