U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told an audience at a Students vs. Billionaires town hall at the University of Michigan that short-term rental purchases tied to football weekends are contributing to Ann Arbor’s tight housing market.
Responding to a question about housing affordability in the area, El-Sayed said the city needs more housing that is “available to people who want to live in it.” He then pointed to Ann Arbor’s status as a destination for football fans as part of the problem.
“The problem with that is this: we are a tourist destination. You know why we are a tourist destination? Football Saturdays.”
He continued by describing how he believes some buyers are affecting the local housing supply.
“So, there’s a lot of folks who have extra capital to spend, who will use a corporation like Airbnb or Vrbo, will buy a housing unit that should have been affordable or available for somebody like you, and then they take it off the market. Which artificially depresses the supply of housing.”
The University of Michigan football team plays as many as eight home games a season, fewer in years with neutral-site openers. El-Sayed’s comments did not address how many home games are played annually or estimate how many housing units in the area are used specifically as short-term rentals during football weekends. He also did not mention the number of jobs the football program supports in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area.
The remarks drew reaction on social media platform X, where some users questioned whether purchasing a property to rent out for only a handful of Saturdays each year would make financial sense as a primary business strategy, while others suggested different explanations for regional housing pressures.
El-Sayed, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat, has previously spoken about the upcoming football season. In an August interview on MS NOW, he referenced Michigan’s rivalry with Ohio State ahead of a visit by Vice President JD Vance.
“I’ll tell you what I’m excited about. It’s about the football season. And you mentioned Ohio for some reason in this interview. I can’t wait to beat Ohio. And let’s just remember, JD Vance, Ohio JD Vance, Peter Thiel JD Vance, is coming to Michigan next week.”
El-Sayed has not released a formal proposal addressing short-term rentals or Ann Arbor’s housing supply beyond the comments made at the town hall.
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