MN Housing News - Presented by MHA
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REPORTS / RESEARCH
News
MN Housing News - Presented by MHA
  • REPORTS / RESEARCH
  • News
News

Minnesota Daily: New Minneapolis City Council committee sets sights on affordable housing

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EXCERPT: “A new Minneapolis City Council committee will focus on boosting the city’s affordable housing stock. The formation of a new Housing Policy and Development committee was announced last week with the approval of other standing committees and new council leadership. The HPD committee will have primary oversight on current and future affordable housing policies. ‘I think there is a real need for public housing to especially serve the lowest income folks and the people without any income in the city,’ said Ward 2 City Council member Cam Gordon, who chairs the new committee.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2DIKMJk

News

Habitat for Humanity joins The King Center to mobilize nationwide affordable housing work

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking.  (Photo by Julian Wasser//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

EXCERPT: “Building on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community,” Habitat for Humanity announced plans today to honor King’s legacy through a series of projects across the nation in 2018. Over the next year, in partnership with The King Center’s MLK 50 Forward initiative, Habitat is renewing and strengthening its commitment to build a world where everyone has a decent place to live and the opportunity for a better future . . .Habitat leaders in more than 15 communities, including Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C; Chicago; Denver; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; New York City; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C., have already committed to Beloved Community projects, and more will be announced throughout the year.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2DAxFKg

News, REPORTS / RESEARCH

MarketWatch: Why it makes more sense to rent than buy

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EXCERPT: “A majority of Americans are renting on the cheap — at least, compared to what they’d be paying if they bought a home. Most Americans (64%) live in a county where renting takes up a smaller portion of one’s paycheck than buying, according to a report released Thursday by real estate data firm Attom Data Solutions. And yet in more than half (54%) of housing markets — 240 of 447 U.S. counties — buying a median-price home is actually more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property.” FULLSTORY: http://on.mktw.net/2DqJTEX

News

KARE-TV: Study ranks MN as 2nd best state to raise a family

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EXCERPT: “Looking for a location to settle down and start your family? One study says it doesn’t get much better than the land of 10,000 lakes. A new study by WalletHub puts Minnesota right behind Massachusetts as the second best state to raise a family. The study compared all 50 states on 42 key indicators of family-friendliness — median family salary, housing affordability, unemployment rate, ‘family fun,’ education, health, safety and more.” FULLSTORY: http://kare11.tv/2CFcdlR

News

Builder: Wage gains are necessary to stop the decline of housing affordability

EXCERPT: “The lack of resale inventory and the shift in the market mix for new construction has pushed up home prices in most markets. While these gains represent a windfall wealth gain for existing homeowners (keep in mind the typical homeowner has a net worth of $231,400 compared with $5,200 for the typical renter, according to the 2016 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances), these price increases have a negative impact on the ability of prospective first-time home buyers to enter the market.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2CuB63B

News

MinnPost: 5 reasons people are homeless in Minnesota

3091062382_f171d9a18d_zEXCERPT: “There is not enough affordable housing in Minnesota. Adults in our study most often reported losing their housing because they could not afford their rent or mortgage (36 percent), and 22 percent reported that there was no housing available that they could afford.At the time of the study, fair market rent (determined annually by the federal government) averaged $796 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in the Twin Cities and $558 per month in Greater Minnesota. Both of these numbers exceed the $550 median monthly income among homeless adults.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2ClKc2u

News

Minnesota Public Radio: Lack of affordable housing has tenants fighting to stay in problem landlord’s properties

EXCERPT: “Dozens of families on Minneapolis’s north side recently got some really bad news from the city: They would have to move out by Feb. 28. It’s not because of anything they did. It’s because of their landlord, Mahmood Khan. The city of Minneapolis revoked all 42 of his rental licenses for not maintaining his properties. Over the past decade, he’s received thousands of citations from the city. A recent court order will allow tenants to stay in their homes beyond the end of February, but the city still hopes Khan’s tenants can find new places to live. Many of Khan’s tenants say they want to move, too, but they can’t find anywhere else to go. There’s currently less than a 2 percent vacancy rate for affordable housing in Minneapolis, so landlords can be picky and turn away tenants with bad credit, criminal records or previous evictions.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2zDNhZD

News

Governor’s Office: Governor Mark Dayton Establishes New Task Force on Affordable Housing

EXCERPT: “Joined by affordable housing advocates and community stakeholders, Governor Mark Dayton today issued Executive Order 17-14, creating the Governor’s Task Force on Housing. The nonpartisan task force, comprised of experts and advocates from across Minnesota, will develop solutions to alleviate Minnesota’s housing challenge, and connect more Minnesota families with good places to live. The inability to find safe, affordable housing near job centers and good schools can be a significant barrier to employment and education opportunities for workers and families. Research further shows that children affected by housing insecurity are more likely to struggle in school.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2BlsThN

News

Mankato Free Press: Pilot partnership provides new homes while cleaning up mobile home parks

5a3ad0e61eff2.imageEXCERPT: “The Simmons family’s last home had holes in the floor and their pipes often would freeze and sometimes burst because it got so cold inside in the winter. Kelsey and Donald Simmons covered the holes with two-by-fours and made other improvisations they could afford on a tight budget. But they realized it wouldn’t be long before their mobile home built in 1972 would be no longer be inhabitable. In November they moved into a newer, warm trailer with solid floors thanks to a partnership between the city of Mankato, Minnesota Valley Action Council and three mobile home parks, with support from a state grant.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2Blszj3

News

MHA Sets Affordable Housing Strategies

MHA logo(2)Minneapolis – The Minnesota Multi-Housing Association is introducing a framework to preserve and develop affordable rental housing throughout Minnesota.

Today, the organization released strategies that will be key to reaching those optimistic, yet achievable goals. These strategies are meant as a framework for a discussion to improve affordable housing in Minnesota.

The framework has three key goals:

  1. Protecting Residents
  2. Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)
  3. Producing More Multifamily Housing

Protecting Residents

Eviction is a worst-case scenario for everyone involved. For landlords, it’s a costly and time-consuming process, as is finding and screening new tenants to replace those lost. It’s costly for government agencies and private organizations who step in to help the displaced residents. And, above all, it’s costly to those who find themselves in need of shelter. Reasonable efforts to keep residents in their homes benefit all of the parties.

Short-term strategies

  • Streamline approval of county Emergency Assistance funds
  • Continue best practices adoption by housing assistance programs
  • Housing counselor/resident education training
  • Voluntary pre-eviction mediation
  • Expand resident rental assistance at the local level

Mid-term strategies

  • Develop pilot project for household financial emergency stabilization funds
  • Resident relocation, including time and/or assistance, under certain limited circumstances

Long-term strategies

  • More economic development and stimulus leading to better paying jobs, including affordable education opportunities and workforce readiness training, with a focus on the housing sector
  • New pathways and incentives for affordable home ownership

Preserving Naturally-Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)*

One of the most cost effective means of providing affordable multifamily housing is through the preservation of existing naturally-occurring affordable housing stock. This also helps to stabilize residents of communities who are at the greatest risk of dislocation.

Short-term strategies

  • Expand use of 4d tax classification with reasonable regulations
  • Low cost debt and/or equity sources for loans and grants for rehab, only for preserving affordable housing
  • Streamline approval of non-conforming units
  • Expand 40% rebate programs for energy upgrades
  • Funding for NOAH acquisitions by mission-driven partners (Greater MN Housing Fund – NOAH Impact Fund)

Mid-term strategy

  • Reduced utility rates

Long-term strategy

  • Equal property tax treatment for homeowners and rental housing residents

Producing More Multifamily Housing

Changing demographics and the strong economy have created an unprecedented demand for rental housing. Meeting this increased demand for housing has put a tremendous strain on the market. While there are numerous high-end units being built, due to a number of factors including the high construction costs and regulatory burdens, there has been insufficient production of new, affordable units. This imbalance between supply and demand has been felt most by lower income populations seeking a place to live. An increase in the supply of housing units is one component of solving this problem, and is a critical element in meeting housing needs.

Short & mid-term strategies

  • Promote lower-cost design and construction of apartments by shortening the funding and approval process and reducing costs and fees
  • Expand use of 4d tax classification for new unsubsidized affordable housing

Long-term strategies

  • Sales tax exemption for new affordable and rehab construction materials
  • Dedicated state funding source for affordable housing
  • Homegrown Fund initiative for metro-wide affordable housing funding via sales tax (Minnesota Housing Partnership Proposal)

 

*The contractual agreements for NOAH and “tax credit-free” or “government grant-free” new construction of affordable housing would have time frames commensurate with the level of government support and would be annually self-certified, but subject to audit and claw backs for violations. Limited compliance activity is essential to incentivize market-rate housing providers’ participation.

As an observation, subsidized affordable housing would also benefit from all the aforementioned strategies to lower the cost of construction.

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