The surging population growth of Central Ohio will reshape the housing market, directly impacting us—builders, remodelers, designers, and contractors. Staying informed helps us deliver exceptional service and experiences for our clients, teams, and communities.
At Residential Designed Solutions our goal is to partner with you to provide opportunities to profit from this growth. We encourage you to explore the provided information and learn more about key takeaways that resonated with us:
What is Happening in Central Ohio?
In 2022, Axios Columbus, reported the population growth changes from 2000 to 2020. The disparity between Columbus and other area of Ohio means there are unique opportunities and challenges for builders and remodelers.
What’s driving Columbus growth? Industry and Strategic Development. Central Ohio’s education, health care, tech, and government services are fueling development. Meanwhile, investments, transportation, and modernized infrastructure are incentivizing growth.
Opportunities for builders and remodelers mean adapting to your clients’ needs, anticipating shifts, and collaborating with regulators to ensure you can accommodate the different demands of your clients.
A Blueprint for Growth
An article from McKinsey & Company, suggests a blueprint for Columbus to provide sustainable and inclusive housing growth.
Proposed solutions:
Boost Housing Supply: Identifying land, streamlining rezoning, and promoting public-private partnerships are proven ways to boost supply.
Cut construction costs: Simplifying permitting and streamlining designs can help cut costs and maximize profits.
Increased Affordability: Support homeownership and rentals initiatives, both public and private.
Prioritize ending homelessness: Offering affordable housing, healthcare and job training can greatly impact housing shortages.
MORPC Population Growth Forecast 2040-2050
This report is one of the most comprehensive. It examines the 15-county region and our estimated population of 3.15 million people by 2050.
Key Takeaways:
In the next 25+ years, central Ohio will see a growth of 726,000 people, which equates to 272,000 additional households and 357,000 additional workers.
Franklin County will absorb half of the regional growth and twice as many people as Delaware County. Other counties will see growth as follows: Madison County—30% increase, Licking County—30% increase, and Delaware County—80% increase.
Communities will succeed when they with existing industry to develop clusters enabling them to produce jobs (with a variety of pay grades), and support those working in their communities.
It will be critical to develop housing near jobs and create and utilize transit routes for employees when possible.
Read more here:
After reading and thinking about these articles, we presented this question to our team to be proactive in helping you, the builder/remodeler.
“Housing and transportation are two of the biggest concerns and needs due to the population growth in central Ohio. It is predicted that there will be a housing shortage in central Ohio by 2032. What can we, (RDS), do to help you, the builder/remodeler, keep up with growth and demand, while balancing build cost, energy efficiency and sustainability?”
1. We can work to provide timely and timeless designs that will not only reflect the current market and design preferences, but also be aware and reactive to the anticipated influx of new families with their own design preferences based on the different regions they will be arriving from.
2. Advocate for much needed zoning reform, especially regarding housing density and design requirements.
3. Be proactive in educating ourselves in the rapid changes occurring in local codes and energy code requirements and be prepared to offer builder/remodeler clients solutions that address these changes.
— Dominic Luppino, Senior Designer
I believe one of the most important things we can do here at RDS is to continue to work with clients at all price points. By providing innovative, cost-effective solutions for existing and new homeowners to renovate, expand, and build new construction in the Columbus area, I believe we can help facilitate a thoughtful growth of residential homes. Another factor that we, in conjunction with builders and remodelers, need to continue, is to push for is the experimentation and implementation of new and more efficient construction methods, like modular home design and prefabricated construction to reduce both the cost and time of new construction. There is no doubting the expansive growth that Columbus will experience in the next few decades. We, as designers and builders, are responsible for creating a healthy and inclusively built environments for all those who choose to make Columbus their home.
—Joshua Brashear, Associate Designer
In reading about some real efforts to build attainable housing in the central Ohio area, the challenge is the no growth and slow growth initiatives and the zoning processes that seek only higher end housing (larger lots, less traffic) and commercial development for its tax income. The shortsightedness is that these elected zoning boards are not providing housing for the employees who staff these commercial businesses. If the people can’t find appropriate housing, then the business won’t relocate to their municipality. The NIMBYISM and BANANA (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything) people feel that they should be able to control the zoning and use of land in their communities by referendum rather than trusting the professional planners and elected council and zoning board members that approve the development plans that take all of the factors into consideration..
As residential designers, we respond to market conditions and requirements from our builders, remodelers, and clients. We also work within the zoning constraints of the required property setbacks and allowable lot coverages. Then we also of course, respond to our clients wishes and design within architectural review constraints (when applicable) to create plans for their perfect new home or renovation/addition.
Keeping up with demand is always one of the most difficult factors to balance because it ebbs and flows with market conditions and interest rates. We work hard to maintain a well-trained team of experts to provide design and documentation services to our builders and remodelers. We’re always tracking and reading the latest articles and industry info on building science and new energy saving materials. We feel it is critical to have broad background knowledge to be able to discuss the pros and cons of different materials that clients may want to incorporate into their homes.
While we cannot control build cost, we do know what makes a home more expensive and we understand that based on the targeted price point we will need to adjust our creativity and details to match.
Sustainability is a very long and detailed discussion based on the history of sourcing materials etc. What we do have a real feel for is what works long term, what is lower maintenance and why.
—Jim Wright, Owner and Principal Designer
What have your teams and cohorts been discussing regarding this population growth? How are you poised to meet this demand? We’d be interested in listening and continuing the conversation. And as always, if we can create home designs for you or your clients, call us at 614-430-0027.