There are many challenges to owning a home, but is relief in sight? A housing advocacy group's legislative agenda for 2025 includes increasing funding for housing creation and preservation, supporting diverse housing choices, and stabilizing affordable homes.
A major problem facing potential home owners, is that income is not keeping up with home values. That's good and bad news according to Anne Mavity with Minnesota Housing Partnership.
"That's great news for folks who are in a home or, on paper, their net assets are increasing," says Mavity. "That makes it really hard for folks to get into home ownership."
She says there are plenty of folks in Minnesota unable to secure the American Dream.
"We have 114,000 homes missing from our market for the folks that are not making enough on their income," Mavity explains.
So then the question becomes, how we rectify this?
"Whether it's down payment assistance to get people into home ownership, whether it's rental assistance, whether it's really clearing the way to create more homes. We know when every Minnesotan has a home, we all do better," she adds.
There is also a significant racial disparity in home ownership. But it's improving.
"We most recently had been in 4th place in the country of the worst racial homeownership disparities," Mavity says. "What we're seeing is some of these targeted strategies to get more first-time home buyers into homes is having an impact so that we are now in 11th."
She says that's still not good enough but that policies and investments are working and their 2025 legislative agenda includes increasing funding for housing creation and preservation, supporting diverse housing choices, and stabilizing affordable homes.
You can visit mhponline.org for more info.