EXCERPT: “Despite concerns about affordability, with housing prices rising much faster than wages, the demand continues to outstrip the supply of existing homes for sale across southeastern Minnesota. A monthly report issued by the Southeastern Minnesota Association of Realtors says the number of closings last month on sales of existing homes was steady when compared to July of last year, while the number of pending sales increased nearly 5-percent regionwide. The number of new listings was up 7.7 percent, but the inventory of homes on the market shrank 4.7-percent from a year ago to just over 1400 units. That helped push the median sales price up 8.6-percent to just over $192,000.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2nARQ3v

EXCERPT: “Rising home prices and interest rates pushed housing affordability to a 10-year low in the second quarter of 2018, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). In all, 57.1% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $71,900. This is down from the 61.6% of homes sold in the first quarter that were affordable to median-income earners and the lowest reading since mid-2008. The national median home price jumped from $252,000 in the first quarter of 2018 to $265,000 in the second quarter—the highest quarterly median price in the history of the HOI series. At the same time, average mortgage rates jumped by more than 30 basis points in the second quarter to 4.67% from 4.34% in the first quarter.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2vzNk9B

EXCERPT: “After more than a decade of discussion about housing on an overgrown St. Paul plot, cleanup crews broke ground last month to clear the way for nearly a dozen new homes that neighbors have long been clamoring for. The Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity project on the city’s North End has been in the works for years, after a previous agency attempting to develop the site went belly-up. Now, with millions in secured funding, crews are working to dig out thousands of tons of asbestos left by a building that could possibly date to the 1800s, which didn’t turn up in any research. The last vestige of funding for the $700,000 cleanup bill was secured last week, when the city of St. Paul stepped in to partially tackle a shortfall Habitat had originally asked Ramsey County to address.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2OjpGFr

EXCERPT: “Will Fillmore County be prepared to provide affordable housing during a period which will likely see job growth in the area? Both Destination Medical Center and the potential veterans home in Preston could provide jobs that encourage economic growth and increase housing demand in the region. DMC will likely provide some demand for housing in Fillmore County, especially for workers who prefer living outside of the city. Workers will weigh the higher dollar cost of housing in Rochester against the cost of travel and time if they choose to live in a smaller town. The DMC initiative kicked off in 2013 seeks to make Rochester a hub for medical education, research, and innovation. It is expected to drive growth providing over a couple of decades an additional 25,000 to 35,000 jobs. Most of the development will be in a 10 to 12 block radius in downtown Rochester.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2M16Q8H

EXCERPT: “Ten years after the housing collapse during the Great Recession, a new and different housing crisis has emerged. Back then, people were losing their homes as home values crashed and homeowners went underwater. Today, home values have rebounded, but people who want to buy a new home are often priced out of the market. There are too few homes and too many potential buyers. Home construction per household is now at its lowest levels in nearly six decades, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. This isn’t just a problem in San Francisco or New York, where home prices and rents have gone sky-high. It is also a problem in midsized, fast-growing cities farther inland, like Des Moines, Iowa; Durham, N.C.; and Boise, Idaho. In Boise, an analysis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed there is a demand for more than 10 times the number of homes being built right now.” FULLSTORY: https://n.pr/2M31Gc6

EXCERPT: “Affordable housing continues to be a growing issue in Rochester. There are multiple factors that go into the price of renting and buying, including the cost of labor. The decrease in construction workers may be increasing the cost of housing. There is a decline in young construction workers, both in South Eastern Minnesota and across the nation. In 2005, there were 11.7 million construction workers in the U.S., but in 2016 that number dropped by more than a million, according to an analysis of U.S Census Data by Buildzoom in the Wall Street Journal. Executive Director of Rochester Area Builders John Eischen says students and parents aren’t necessarily aware of the benefits of working in the industry.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2LUqsLF

EXCERPT: “One hundred percent of donations for WCCO’s Pulling Together go directly to Fraser, Minnesota’s largest organization helping people with autism and mental health. Fraser is primarily known for its work with kids. But that is only part of the story. Fraser recently organized a formal adult mental health department. They’ve developed housing in Richfield . . . Each client who lives here gets their own 600-foot, one bedroom apartment with a kitchen, den, bathroom and bedroom. But the greatest perks are not the amenities. ‘They sign the lease, they have the key, and as needed, they can have staff come in and provide services,’ Jessica Enneking with Fraser Adult Services said. They are the only local group to have housing like this.” FULLSTORY: https://cbsloc.al/2LM5XBl

EXCERPT: “Rochester is in the middle of a massive construction boom, adding glitzy residential and commercial space. But most residents in the southeastern Minnesota city say there’s not enough affordable housing being built. That’s one of the findings of a new survey commissioned by the City Council. One church has taken on the mission of helping to fill the gap. Rochester’s newest affordable housing apartments are on the wooded campus of a former Bible college. And they rent for as little as $575 with utilities included — an unheard of sum in Rochester’s tight housing market. Jeff Urban, Bear Creek Christian Church outreach pastor, has been sprucing up a cluster of student dorm rooms that have been converted into a four-bedroom, 1.5 bath unit. ‘There isn’t much living space up here. That’s why we opened up the downstairs to make a bigger living space, which is much better for a family,’ Urban said.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2NXTN54

EXCERPT: “Montevideo’s housing market, like housing markets across the country, is facing many challenges, both for prospective home buyers and renters. A combination of low supply and high demand is driving prices for homes and rental units beyond the reach of a growing number of Americans. Throw in spiking construction costs and the outlook for affordable housing looks bleak. Gwen Nelson, realtor for Kuhlmann Realty, commented on the housing market in Montevideo. ‘It’s a real sellers market not only locally, but especially for realtors who are begging for inventory,’ she said. ‘There are only 41 listings on the market right now in Montevideo; that’s for all realtors. That’s the way it is all over right now. That’s why if you put your house on the market at the right price, it will sell.’ That being said, the lack of inventory makes the decision to sell a home a difficult one. Nelson said: ‘There are people who want to sell their homes, but they are afraid to put their house on the market. They are afraid that, if they sell their house, they may not be able to find another one.'” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2LCAr8f

EXCERPT: “With a vacancy rate of 2.4 percent, St. Paul is in the midst of a housing crisis, and the city needs to take decisive and wide-ranging steps to address it. That, in a nutshell, was the declaration from the St. Paul City Council, which voted 7-0 on Wednesday to approve a wide-ranging resolution ‘calling for action to create and preserve housing that is affordable at all income levels.’ The housing resolution also calls on the city to ‘address racial, social and economic disparities in housing, and create infrastructure needed to stabilize housing for all in St. Paul.’ The goal, in part, is to send a strong message to St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office in advance of the mayor’s budget address next month: the 2019 city budget needs to set aside funds for new housing initiatives, including a new staff member to focus exclusively on housing.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2Le3r6V