Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Supply And Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Minnesota housing advocates tell committee statewide supply gap forces cost burdens and racial disparities
Summary
Presenters told the Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention that Minnesota is producing far fewer homes than needed, leaving deep barriers for extremely low‑income households and contributing to persistent racial gaps in homeownership.
Senator Lindsey Port convened the Senate Committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention and heard from Anne Mavity, executive director of the Minnesota Housing Partnership, who told the committee that Minnesota’s housing system “is not producing the housing that Minnesotans need.” Mavity said the gap is historic and systemic, and that intentional policy is needed to reverse racially predictable outcomes in homeownership.
Mavity outlined data showing the Twin Cities region needed about 36,000 new homes over a recent 10‑year period but produced roughly 16,000, a shortfall of about 20,000 units. She said undersupply is producing cost burdens: roughly a quarter of renters pay more than they can afford and “one out of every five children are living in these households that are paying too much.” She also highlighted that extremely low‑income households are most affected, estimating Minnesota is short about 14,000 homes for that group.
Nut graf: Advocates framed the shortfall as both a market failure for the lowest‑income Minnesotans and a policy failure for the state; they urged a combination of capital investments, land‑use reform and targeted programs to preserve and create deeply affordable homes.
Committee members asked for more disaggregated data. Senator Draheim asked whether homeownership rates could be broken down by age; Mavity said the agency can provide age‑disaggregated figures and a longer trend analysis. Committee discussion also touched on zoning and the Yes to Homes campaign as a non‑budget way to reduce development cost and delay.
Mavity summarized Minnesota Housing Partnership priorities in the committee packet and in testimony: preserve and create homes (production and preservation), expand options for Greater Minnesota, improve access and opportunity (including rental assistance and down‑payment support), and invest in ongoing solutions across the housing continuum. She emphasized that solutions must include both market‑based production and targeted subsidies for households the market does not serve.
Ending: The committee received the presentation as framing for later agenda items. Members asked staff and presenters to provide additional, age‑ and race‑disaggregated data and to return for deeper discussion of zoning, land use and homelessness prevention.
