Gov. Walz announces halt to eviction proceedings amid coronavirus
Marissa Evans · StarTribune · March 24,2020
The governor said in a news conference call from self-imposed quarantine that landlords and financial institutions cannot start eviction proceedings during the state’s peacetime emergency for the virus. Walz said halting evictions was necessary to slow the spread of the coronavirus and it would be “not only personally cruel, but counterproductive to what we’re trying to do” if people did not have a home to stay in.
Coronavirus crisis drives housing advocates’ push for rent and mortgage relief
Kim Hart · Axios · March 20, 2020
Without a place to stay, it’s next to impossible to maintain the “social distance” necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Renters, landlords seek relief during coronavirus economic tailspin
Danny Spewak · KARE11 · 18 March (updated 19 March)
With coronavirus inflicting pain on both renters and landlords, both sides are seeking government relief.
Report: Many Minnesota college students struggle to afford food, housing
Henry Erlandson · StarTribune · March 8, 2020
Nearly half of Minnesota college and university students cannot consistently afford their housing costs, while more than one-third struggle to pay for adequate food, according to a new report.
Rents See Biggest Jump in Decade
Jim Buchta · StarTribune · Feb 15, 2020
Average monthly cost in the metro rose 6%, driven by demand in the suburbs.
Twin Cities Housing: The ‘Flaming Hoops’ Separating Builders and Cities
Steve Elkins · StarTribune · Feb 14, 2020
By the Metropolitan Council’s estimates, the average of 9,500 housing units we’ve been building per year over the past decade is 30% less than the 14,000 units per year we need to keep up with demand. The affordable housing picture is worse; we’re building just one-fifth of what’s needed.
Median Twin Cities home price rose to a record $280,000 in 2019
Martin Moylan · MPR News · Feb 5, 2020
The Minneapolis Area Realtors group said the median selling price for area homes rose nearly 6 percent last year to $280,000. That benchmark has now increased by more than 5 percent every year since 2012. Prices are well above those reached in the housing bubble more than a decade ago.
2020 Legislature to offer dueling visions for energy policy in face of climate change
Walker Orenstein · MinnPost · Feb 5, 2020
A January hearing in Rochester previewed debate in the upcoming legislative session that begins on Feb. 11 over how far and how fast the state should restrict fossil fuels to reduce the effects of climate change.
Financial Pressure From Rent is Moving Up the Income Ladder
Bill Lucia · Route Fifty · Feb 4, 2020
Rent is increasingly posing an outsized financial burden for households earning between $30,000 and $75,000 a year, according to new research from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
What shapes a kid’s opportunities? Researchers say look to the neighborhood.
Rachel Siegel · Washington Post · Jan 24, 2020
A child’s neighborhood can predict how they’ll do in life, new research finds. A Brandeis University study finds stark divides along racial and ethnic lines, as well as glaring “opportunity gaps” — even in adjoining neighborhoods. A link to the full report is available here.