News
States target ‘junk fees’ that burden rental households
Route Fifty · 19 July 2023
The White House announced new efforts to improve transparency in the rental market, to ensure renters are told the total cost of fees added to monthly rent costs.
Boosting affordable housing by reclaiming investor-owned properties
Route Fifty · 6 July 2023
One-quarter of homes sold in 2021 were purchased by outside investors, and many believe this has intensified the affordability crisis via higher rents, lower rates of individual homeownership and less affordable neighborhoods.
A different kind of green bank—one that targets affordable housing
Route Fifty · 21 June 2023
The state of Massachusetts launched the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank in an effort to create more climate-friendly, affordable housing.
Minnesota health organizations working to create affordable housing
MinnPost · 14 June 2023
Improving housing will positively impact health care organizations because there are high costs associated with patients who frequently come into the emergency room.
Affordable Housing Woes Paint a ‘Bleak Picture’
New York Times · 14 June 2023
So many developments have been sidetracked or delayed that some experts expect a “production cliff” to hit in a year or so, meaning fewer new homes coming onto the market.
Think Globally, Build Like Hell Locally
Mother Jones · May-June 2023
NIMBYs come in a variety of forms, but the most confounding are those who call themselves progressive yet abuse laws conceived to protect the environment in order to block desperately needed housing, driving up costs and fueling homelessness.
Imagine a Renters’ Utopia. It Might Look Like Vienna.
New York Times · 23 May 2023
Soaring real estate markets have created a worldwide housing crisis. What can we learn from a city that has largely avoided it?
‘Granny flats’ play surprising role in easing California’s housing woes
Washington Post · 21 May 2023
More than 23,000 ADU permits were issued in California last year, compared with fewer than 5,000 in 2017.
How finding a home in America became so absurdly expensive
The Guardian · 10 May 2023
The dream of home ownership or an affordable rental is becoming unreachable for many.
Five takeaways from Minnesota Legislature’s housing deal
StarTribune · 9 May 2023
The $1 billion bill is the most the state has ever spent on housing, but much of the money is one-time cash.
Minnesota legislative ‘big, big deal’ spends $1B on affordable housing
MinnPost · 9 May 2023
The first-ever tax devoted to affordable housing would raise $200 million a year for housing projects and programs in the seven-county area. It is part of a $1 billion investment in affordability that sponsors and advocates are calling historic.
Who’s afraid of integration? A lot of people, actually
New York Times · 5 April 2023
Policymakers of good will face the enormous and perhaps insuperable task of restoring integration to center stage while somehow avoiding the political and logistical errors that characterized busing and affirmative action in the past.
Understand tax increment financing before throwing shade
StarTribune · 6 April 2023
Tax increment financing is often criticized by those who don’t understand it. You just can’t build a building that will be affordable to people with lower incomes unless the costs are subsidized somehow.
Triplexes facing hurdles in Mpls.
StarTribune · 5 April 2023
Despite the 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s elimination of single-family zoning four years ago, zoning codes have not yet been updated to align with the plan, making it hard to redevelop lots into multifamily housing.
Duluth apartment-to-hotel conversion rankles residents, city officials
MPR News · 4 April 2023
A Duluth developer’s plans to convert part of an apartment building built with a public subsidy into a boutique hotel has prompted a public outcry.