There’s one thing Utah Gov. Spencer Cox hoped people took away from his 27-minute address to state leaders: We must build.

“Whether you live near the red rocks of Saint George or the snow-capped peaks of the Uintas; whether you look out over the copper-crowned mountains of the west or the mirrored waters of Bear Lake; to all Utahns in every corner of this state and anywhere in between — in every one of our 255 cities and towns; to Utahns of every race, background, and creed; to the young and the young at heart,” Cox said Thursday night during his annual State of the State address, “we must build.”

The governor’s comments, punctuated by laughter and one standing ovation, come as Utah faces a massive housing shortage, high interest rates and a lag in construction.

To tackle that deficit, Cox wants to add 35,000 starter houses within five years, a push aimed at making homes more affordable for young families and a workforce squeezed by the high cost of living.

He’s acknowledged it’s a massive undertaking but hasn’t given up even though lawmakers didn’t allocate the $150 million he wanted last year and doubled down on the goal during his address.

“The greatest generation did this after WWII,” Cox said. “And we can do it again.”

To reach his goal this year, he’ll need support from the very lawmakers he addressed Thursday night.

Ways to tackle housing shortages

Lawmakers, only three days into the 2025 legislative session, have proposed bills that would tweak land use rules and improve existing programs to make it easier for people to buy a home.

House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, advocated for “common improvements to our density policies” and other efforts to decrease the cost of housing in an official response to the governor’s address.

As of December, the median listing price for a home in Utah was $589,990, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

That’s the seventh highest in the nation.

A bill from Rep. Carol Moss, D-Salt Lake City, would bolster the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund with state liquor revenues. Those funds would be split two ways:

• 40% would help people with low incomes — between 30% and 60% of the area median income where they live — purchase a home. Statewide, that income limit would be between $22,800 and $45,600 for an individual and $32,550 and $65,100 for a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, though median income varies by county.

• 60% would help people buy, develop or rehabilitate multifamily housing for people making up to 40% of a given area’s median income.

Another bill would make building accessory dwelling units and modular homes easier.

Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, is proposing HB88, which would require cities in the first- and second-class counties of Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington and Weber to allow:

• Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on lots with detached, single-family homes. These smaller units often are touted as a way to increase the state’s rental housing stock.

• Modular units in residential zones. Modular homes are houses built off-site in sections and transported to a location. Builders then assemble them and install them on foundations. The process is often faster than on-site construction.

Ward also has proposed legislation that would allow housing in commercial zones.

SB152 from Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake, would prohibit local officials from requiring a garage on one- and two-family homes.

Construction material costs have skyrocketed in recent years, with the price for some materials growing by more than 70% between 2020 and 2024, according to the National Association of Home Builders, meaning garageless homes are less expensive to build — and buy.

Blouin is also proposing SB125, which would lower the damages a jury or court can award in an eviction case from treble damages — triple the daily rent from the expiration of the initial eviction notice until the tenant leaves the rental unit — to actual damages.

Another bill, HB37, would create an optional overlay tool for cities to provide a density bonus in exchange for affordable, owner-occupied units.

That legislation, from Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, also aims to improve data collection about housing, zoning, development, and infrastructure and would require the creation of regional plans around housing by next summer.

A pair of bills from Taylorsville Republican Sen. Wayne Harper aim to expand the definition of affordability and make other changes to existing programs that let local governments use tax increment financing — or TIF, which is tax revenue beyond an established base in a given area — to support development and infrastructure. SB23 would make changes to First Home Investment Zones, and SB26 would modify rules for Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones.

Two lawmakers — Republican Rep. Tyler Clancy and Democrat Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion — want to add language to state law clarifying who can buy a single-family home in Utah.

Clancy, a Provo police detective, proposes in HB149 to add language prohibiting institutional investors like hedge funds from buying homes.

Investors have been buying more single-family homes since the coronavirus pandemic and often buy cheaper homes available on the market, according to a study from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Bennion, of Cottonwood Heights, is sponsoring HB151, which would require most people purchasing a home within the first month it’s on the market to sign a legal document saying they intend to live in the house.

Other bills look to set a required notice period for rent increases and to make it easier for local governments to regulate and tax short-term rentals.

‘We must build’

Cox acknowledged that the state’s growth has come with challenges.

“Now, I recognize that when I talk about building, some people get a little nervous,” the governor told lawmakers and their guests to a full Utah House chamber. “Some might even argue that we’ve blossomed a little too much.”

He cited news headlines warning that the state’s resources can’t support more growth and noting Sanpete County farms shutting down and families moving away because of growth.

One from the Deseret News warned “Resources Of [The] State Unable to Support More [Growth].”

Those headlines, though, are from decades ago, he said — 1942, when the state’s population was 580,000 people, and 1867.

“We must build,” he said. “History teaches us that in Utah, when we are united and act together, we have always found a way past pessimistic prognostications. For 180 years and counting, Utahns have been building our way out of problems, even when things looked impossible.”

At the end of his address, Cox strung together nearly a dozen reasons why Utah’s future need to be “built here.”

“Built here means remembering that every bridge, building, and breakthrough started with someone who refused to accept impossibility,” he said. “Built here means rejecting false choices — like building thousands of new homes and maintaining our quality of life.”

His list of reasons went on, including “rejecting conflict entrepreneurs, who would weaponize our attention and energy, and destroy that which makes us special” and “supporting the free people of Utah in finding their own way to build. Whether it’s a business, a farm, or a family.”

“Built here means giving our kids and grandkids an inspiring story to tell about our time,” the governor concluded his speech, “so that 180 years from now our descendants can look back at us with the pride and gratitude and reverence that we feel in our hearts today.”

Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.