Housing Guam’s future: Policy, tech and data to break the gridlock

BY RYAN MUMMERT

Guam’s housing crisis is not just a supply issue — it’s a structural one. 

Rising costs, outdated zoning laws, and long permitting timelines have made it difficult to build, buy, or even plan for attainable housing. These challenges are pricing out working families, stalling economic growth, and straining communities. And while today’s households bear the brunt, the long-term damage compounds as the next generation quietly leaves — taking with them the talent and leadership we’ll need tomorrow.

Fair market rent now exceeds $2,100 per month, while the sustainable target — including utilities — should be under $2,000. That gap forces families into overcrowded housing and blocks young adults from living independently. Many of Guam’s college graduates return home not to launch — but to stall — facing limited housing, few job prospects, and no social infrastructure to support a post-college lifestyle.

They’re stuck in place. There’s no housing mobility, no community design around education and innovation, and no scalable employment sectors that allow them to build wealth. Guam lacks the development and training pipelines that signal opportunity and growth. Without a visible path forward, we shouldn't be surprised when young talent leaves.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Step one is zoning reform. Lt. Governor Josh Tenorio underscored the need to legalize what already aligns with Guam’s culture and economy: multifamily housing built by families, for families, on land they already own. The current process forces them to spend months seeking variances and approvals just to do what makes sense.

That leads us to the two development cycles holding Guam back:

• The Zoning & Density Cycle, which can take 12 to 18 months to approve increased density — even when projects are community-supported.
• The Structural Development Cycle, which adds another 18 months for permitting, infrastructure, and construction. Developers carry the full cost upfront in a high-interest environment, long before selling the first unit.

Together, these cycles create a three-year chokehold on new inventory. And when the math doesn’t work for builders, it certainly won’t work for buyers.

Innovative building methods like precast and 3D-printed housing, self-certification for engineers, and concurrent agency reviews can reduce friction. These methods are already being used behind the fence. There’s no reason they shouldn’t scale outside it.

Yet the deeper challenge is systemic: data fragmentation and lack of process transparency.

Many agencies have limited access to their own datasets, often locked in legacy systems or controlled by proprietary applications. Staff may want to share but can’t locate the original records or are bound by software constraints. This restricts transparency, delays approvals, and limits collaboration between government and developers.

And here’s the hard truth: data is the lifeblood of modern business.

Fortunes are built on millimeters, not feet—on precision, not approximation.

We should be dialed in. Instead, we’re dialed out.

In our present state, we couldn’t catch a cold in a rainstorm, let alone track momentum in our own economy.

It begs the question: where is the leadership from private industry?

Not just in building — but in demanding that the gates be kicked open. The lack of transparency and accountability isn’t a glitch — it’s embedded. And the longer private sector leaders remain silent, the longer we all stay stuck.

Because right now, if you're 22, college-educated, and ambitious — why would you stay?

And if they continue to leave, who will lead the next wave of solutions?

The fix isn’t just more housing. It’s smarter systems, open data, and policy reform driven by urgency — not comfort.

We don’t need promises — we need execution.

Guam’s future depends on it. mbj

— Ryan Mummert is the founder of Pinpoint Guam and the host of Data Points, a podcast where real estate, technology, and public policy intersect. Whether he's analyzing trends, advocating for policy reform, or spotlighting new tech, his mission remains the same: to unlock opportunity through data and deliver smart growth for the island community. He can be reached at [email protected].