MHP Connect

This month Minnesota Housing’s board heard several items of interest. Perhaps the most important was the restructuring of programs for home purchase and down payment assistance, which was approved by the board in concept. In addition, the board approved restructuring the Agency’s loan to the Twin Cities Community Land Bank. Finally, the board was briefed on a new loan purchaser (AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust), the Commissioner’s activities in gaining support for improvements to the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit, new staff, and greater visibility for the Agency’s Community Profiles.

A couple of recent reports sing the praises of Minnesota. One finds that two of Minnesota's metro areas rank in the top five as the nation's most resilient. Another finds the Twin Cities to be the least stressful major metro in the US. But other recent reports highlight devastating trends in poverty and for kids in our state. Whether your glass is still half full, already half empty, or both, you can the find evidence below, and more, in a series of useful resources.

Housing folks know that despite common stereotypes, renters are integral to our social and economic fabric, and that decent, affordable rental options make for vibrant communities. Recent Met Council projections suggest that the need for rental will increase quite a lot by 2040 due to more older adults, more immigrants, and more single-parent families in the Twin Cities area. MHP's been piecing together data in new ways to tell the story of rental in Minnesota to show that affordable rental housing is in short supply and requires investment to meet our needs going forward. Take an MHP graphical data tour of three key points, and let us know what you think in the comments.

 

 

 

Two issues stood out at the March Minnesota Housing meeting: the adoption of the 2013 plan for allocating federal low income housing tax credits, and the proposed restructuring of the agency's home improvement loan program.  Aside from these items the meeting was memorable in its composition: with the first time attendance of new board member Steve Johnson, half of the board members present were businessmen with the last name of Johnson. The board composition is really starting to sound Minnesotan.