Courtesy Eagle Mountain

I believe it was Maya Angelou who said, “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

These are undoubtedly powerful words from her 1986 autobiography series “All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes,” and it’s a message that rings true more than ever for Utahns as we turn our calendars to 2022.

This is a crucial period for Utah and for Eagle Mountain. Many parts of Utah are facing serious issues in the housing market. This past year saw record increases in rent and housing prices, and continued reports of demand outpacing supply.

Eagle Mountain is relatively affordable compared to other parts of Utah County, but we find ourselves in a similar situation with a relatively higher cost of living from prior years.

In 2021, our City issued more than 1,400 new residential building permits. That brings about 5,500 new residents, putting our population estimate just over 50,000. Despite these efforts, supply and demand remain unbalanced in housing. While this growth has brought many positives to Eagle Mountain, it has brought just as many challenges.

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

This kind of growth may elicit fears that Utah is going the way of California.

Additional traffic and crime come to mind. The need for more water, infrastructure, additional schools and high-density housing will also make an appearance on that list of fears. At worst, our children may be unable to call Utah home.

It’s no wonder Gov. Spencer Cox recently commented that he wasn’t thrilled Salt Lake City was at the top of http://Realtor.com’s list of markets positioned for housing growth in 2022.

These challenges in housing are being addressed by leaders in Utah in their own way. Some solutions will be cutting-edge, such as allocating $228 million for housing initiatives in the state budget. Others will unfortunately avoid the problem.

These decisions, however, will all be made in the face of higher inflation forecasts, lessened monetary support and potentially higher interest rates in the coming months and years.

For Eagle Mountain, it’s important to embrace the realities of our situation and face them with a combination of grit and grace.

If the ache for home lives in all of us, we should see the challenges of Utah’s housing market as a call to cultivate our communities as places with some resolve. This will require candor, resilience and a return to basics.

The kind of courage needed to think hard about our situation is the essence of grit, and it is sorely needed in the state’s housing situation.

I know for many residents my age, the American dream was to start a family, own a home, work a stable job and maybe with a bit of ingenuity, start a small business. To achieve this, we understood well that it takes grit to achieve anything worthwhile.

But it is also important to recognize and acknowledge the world has changed.

Are we extending our friends, family and neighbors enough grace? How would you want to be treated if faced with investing more than a half-million dollars in the purchase of your first home? Is our dream the same as the dream of future generations?

We need to do more to connect with, and better understand, each other’s needs. Only then can we make better decisions for Utah’s housing market.

If we fail to understand this delicate balance between grit and grace in our communities, there will be more than an emotional cost.

This state may fail to make appropriate investments, fail to anticipate change, or fail to give others the same opportunity we enjoyed. Utah’s housing situation will be seriously aching without a steady approach.

The greater Salt Lake City metro’s housing market is projected to see year-over-year price increases of 8.5% in 2022, according to http://Realtor.com’s analysis. This means some residents will feel compelled to make the investment to avoid being priced out. It also means some will feel discouraged, avoid making a purchase, and potentially choose to move elsewhere.

As decision-makers, it’s important to understand this struggle, set expectations and define our communities through resilience and empathy; courage and connection; grit and grace.

Let’s take an honest look at the situation — because Utah ought to continue being a place that lives in all of us.

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