Whether you’re looking to buy or rent, you probably know that housing costs a lot more than it used to. Why?

1. There are not enough available homes, apartments, and condos to meet demand and no way to build more with greater urgency.
2. The maze of legacy rules and practices across the state drive up costs and ensure that any new housing that can be built is simply too expensive for many buyers.

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The Broken System

Current housing policies create barriers that either prevent needed, new homes or require changes resulting in fewer homes and higher prices.

Modern planning and zoning began a century agoas a way to exclude communities of color or people in lower economic classes from living in certain areas. Sadly, this method of exclusion still impacts our housing market today. Too many cities require that new developments include large lots, large homes, and large garages – with some even requiring luxury exteriors and fancy landscaping. The impact is that we’re not building the types of homes Minnesotans need at the prices they can afford, but instead are only building upscale, designer cities that too many Minnesotans cannot afford.

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Home Shortage

Without enough homes to meet the needs of today and tomorrow’s Minnesotans, home prices and rents will continue to rise.

Today, according to Up for Growth, Minnesota needs 100,000 homes to meet the needs of Minnesotans. 75,000 of those homes are needed in the Twin Cities metro area. Minnesotans are also experiencing a mismatch in the types of homes we need, and the types of homes that are available. Young families who grew up in Minnesota cannot return to their communities because of a lack of starter homes, and older adults cannot downsize into a home that meets their needs. More families are seeking to find a home that can accommodate an older parent or a young adult seeking more independence. None of these home types are being built in our communities.

Without adding more homes at different prices and sizes, MInnesotans will continue to see housing costs grow at a pace far exceeding wage growth. It is time for the Legislature to take action to allow more homes across the state.

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Racial Disparities & The Homeownership Gap

Minnesotans of color continue to be locked out of homeownership, and the gap between homeownership for white Minnesotans and Minnesotans of color is one of the largest in the country. This exclusion has profound impacts on quality of life, physical and mental health, wealth creation, and more. It is critically important that all Minnesotans have the opportunity for homeownership.

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Needed Homes Are Not Allowed

Today, new starter homes, townhomes, duplexes, apartments and tiny homes are not being built in today’s communities. These types of homes were common in the past but are no longer allowed without a variance due to outdated land use laws. Housing policies now require larger homes, built on larger lots, with spacious garages and luxury exterior finishes and limit where apartments can be built to limited areas.

Starter homes and affordable apartments that built middle class communities across Minnesota cannot be built today.

It doesn’t need to be this way. The Legislature should take action to allow these homes to be built.

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Exclusionary Practices

The practice of zoning emerged from explicit race-based limitations on housing access and were compounded by real estate practices of redlining and explicit government action on who could access homes and mortgages. By creating socioeconomic barriers to new housing, barriers are created that limit access making homes more expensive, impacting who can afford to buy or rent in their community.

Exclusionary housing practices that increase the cost of homes include:

• Requiring Large Homes on Large Lots
• Requiring Luxury Aesthetic Materials
• Unnecessary and Excessive Parking Requirements
• Requiring Additional Luxury Features
• Local Development Fees / New Resident Tax
• Mandates Requiring Home Owners Associations