The record $162 million awarded for housing development last month by Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) will touch thousands of Minnesota households, ensuring that housing is created and preserved for people who need a place to call home. As MHP reported in a recent post, for every dollar…
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Congressman Ellison Calls Housing Funding Policies “Upside-Down”
Congressman Keith Ellison’s “Housing Funding Strategy is Upside-Down” opinion piece, recently published in the Star Tribune, outlines how the federal government’s investment in housing is “upside-down.” Homeowners, especially a small minority of the wealthiest homeowners, benefit significantly from several government subsidies, especially the mortgage interest deduction…
National Housing Trust Fund victory faces threat
Housing advocates are still rejoicing after the action taken by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt to direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin sending a portion of their profits to the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) and Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) to meet the housing and community…
Housing update from the Minnesota Capitol
It’s been a busy legislative session at the state capitol, and MHP has been actively engaged. We have two main priorities this year: 1) the Homes for All proposal to increase funding for housing and services by $39 million for 2016-17 and 2) expanding workforce housing in Greater Minnesota in…
MN House proposes cuts, inefficient housing policy
Workforce housing has been a key policy priority for MHP, along with strong support for affordable housing through Homes for All. However, the MN House of Representatives’ budget proposal for housing, released last week, funds workforce housing at the direct expense of programs that serve lower-income Minnesotans. The House proposal cuts…
MHP-Kirwan Institute Report: Fair housing and equity in rural regions
What do fair housing and equity mean outside the urban core such as in rural areas without visible concentrations of race and poverty? In the rural regions where MHP worked as a capacity-builder under the Sustainable Communities Initiative, HUD grantees struggled with this question as they faced a…
Housing Tax Credits up for extension – take action
The Senate Finance Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, Congressional and White House leadership are finalizing details on legislation that would extend dozens of expired tax provisions either temporarily or permanently before the December 11 deadline. Take action today to influence the bill in support of permanent 9 and 4…
June 2×4 Report: More MN renters competing for lower-cost apartments
MHP’s June 2015 2×4 Report, released today, found that low rental vacancy rates and rising rents have led to competition for lower-priced units, at least in the Twin Cities where regular data is available. Minnesotans with low incomes are at greatest risk in this tight rental…
Big Summer for Fair Housing
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing | On July 8, HUD released the Final Rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). The rule provides recipients of HUD funding with guidelines and data to promote fair housing and ensure that everyone has the right to fair housing, regardless of their race, color, national origin,…
Doing More with Less: local leadership to reduce the cost of affordable housing
Advocates for affordable housing are well aware of the rising costs of multi-family housing development. City fees, parking requirements, utility hook ups and other expenses all contribute to driving up total development costs. This October, MHP convened affordable housing industry leaders, to explore creative ways to reduce the cost of affordable…