For affordable housing, construction needs modernization
James Schmitz Jr. · StarTribune · 1 May 2021
The fundamental reason for the increasing cost of housing (relative to other goods) is that the construction sector employs an outdated and inefficient technology.
The ‘New Redlining’ Is Deciding Who Lives in Your Neighborhood
Richard D. Kahlenberg · New York Times · 19 April 2021
Economically discriminatory zoning policies — which say that you are not welcome in a community unless you can afford a single-family home, sometimes on a large plot of land — are not part of a distant, disgraceful past. In most American cities, zoning laws prohibit the construction of relatively affordable homes — duplexes, triplexes, quads and larger multifamily units — on three-quarters of residential land.
In effort to preserve affordable houses, Edina program takes aim at teardowns
Jim Buchta · StarTribune · 17 April 2021
With moderately priced houses on the verge of extinction, Edina’s housing authority earlier this year sent thousands of unsolicited offers to owners of the most affordable houses in the city encouraging them to sell to a local nonprofit that then resells houses to working-class families for significantly less than they might otherwise pay.
‘She Wants Well-Qualified People’: 88 Landlords Accused of Housing Bias
Matthew Haag · New York Times · 15 March 2021
A lawsuit by a watchdog group claims that its undercover investigation found widespread bias against tenants receiving federal housing assistance.
Your Home’s Value Is Based on Racism
Dorothy A. Brown · New York Times · 20 March 2021
Black Americans are often unable to build wealth from homeownership in the same way their white peers are, in large part because home prices are generally set by the people who make up the majority of buyers: white Americans.
Is an Algorithm Less Racist Than a Loan Officer?
Jennifer Miller · New York Times · 18 September 2020
Digital mortgage platforms have the potential to reduce discrimination. But automated systems provide rich opportunities to perpetuate bias, too.
To Help Black Developers, Programs Start With Access to Capital
Amanda Abrams · New York Times · 17 March 2021
Several banks have announced initiatives totaling billions of dollars that are aimed at addressing racial inequalities, but observers say the programs need to be carefully tailored.
Making homeownership affordable needs bigger effort in Minnesota
Jeff Washburne · StarTribune · 14 March 2021
Minnesotans have done a great job of studying reporting, and making goals to address racial disparities but have not moved on the racial disparities that exist in homeownership.
Classic Minneapolis Tudor home with modern ADU hits market for $630K
Kim Palmer · StarTribune · 15 March 2021
An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) allowed parents to retire in their adult child’s backyard.
City to preserve smaller homes
Kim Hyatt · StarTribune · 14 March 2021
Edina is partnering with Homes Within Reach to preserve affordable homes in the city.