News
North Minneapolis renters wage a fight with private equity landlords
StarTribune · 29 May 2021
Previously affordable homes have been bought up by private equity. Nationwide, millions of families rent from real estate investment trusts or private equity firms. Critics accuse the institutional investors-turned-landlords of trying to maximize profits through relentless rent hikes while neglecting the costly upkeep of old homes.
New data tool estimates 53,000 households in Minnesota behind on rent
MinnPost · 10 May 2021
Of Minnesota households behind on rent, 60 percent are people of color, 43 percent report being unemployed, 75 percent earn less than $50,000 a year and 71 percent report having lost income during the pandemic.
For affordable housing, construction needs modernization
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reason for the increasing cost of housing (relative to other goods) is that the construction sector employs an outdated and inefficient technology.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
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
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
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
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?
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
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
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
StarTribune · 15 March 2021
An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) allowed parents to retire in their adult child’s backyard.
City to preserve smaller homes
StarTribune · 14 March 2021
Edina is partnering with Homes Within Reach to preserve affordable homes in the city.
Campaign looks to prevent home teardowns in Edina
Edina Sun-Current · 10 March 2021
The Homes Within Reach program is intended to save affordable single-family homes in Edina, rather than seeing them torn down and replaced by luxury homes.
Where Have All the Houses Gone?
New York Times · 26 February 2021
The inventory of homes for sale is startlingly low. The pandemic is part of the reason, but it’s not the whole story.
A Push for Zoning Reform in Connecticut
New York Times · 26 February 2021
Momentum is growing for multifamily housing to be built in a state full of detached single-family houses.