A house has become so much more over the past year. It is a sanctuary, a safe place, a salon, a school, a chef’s domain, and more. Owning a home builds self-esteem, wealth, and even communities. A house is a place where life happens with all the messy beauty and real love that goes with it. We need to build more houses so more people can benefit, because homeownership is all of it, but it is not attainable for everyone.
The movement to grow homeownership opportunities.
The benefits of homeownership reach every corner of the lives of Minnesotans. Most Minnesotans want to own homes, but there are barriers that unnecessarily limit homeownership opportunities for so many in our state. This problem is not new, but the housing market today presents unique and growing challenges for those left out of homeownership.
What our housing market needs—more affordably built homes.
Minnesota’s housing market serves many of us well, and the homes we build in Minnesota are the most energy efficient in the country. However, our housing market does not provide an adequate supply of affordably priced homes. We need to build more of them. Lots more of them. This lack of affordably priced options is not by design. The housing industry wants to meet the demand for these homes and to grow homeownership opportunities. Unfortunately, several barriers hold
us back from serving the entirety of the housing market.
Lifting barriers to homeownership.
One of the largest barriers to homeownership is a series of outdated rules and requirements that unnecessarily limit the construction of affordably priced homes. Many rules, like local government zoning, were created to protect resources and consumers. However, over the years these rules have grown to work against our shared value of homeownership opportunity for all. Modernizing these rules and protections to make them work in support of homeownership opportunities is a challenge, but it can be accomplished!
The opportunity of homeownership for everyone, everywhere.
The Parade of Homes has a proud history presenting the premier homeownership event in Minnesota. We have welcomed Minnesotans to celebrate homeownership for decades and watched our region grow. Today we find ourselves in a moment of critical importance as we think about those left out of our housing market. This moment calls us to prioritize the cause of homeownership and to inspire Minnesotans to take action.
Why the Parade of Homes cares:
- Lifting homeownership barriers solves so many other problems such as community investment, educational outcomes, safety, and, importantly, homeownership is one of the largest wealth creators.
- Minnesota has the largest homeownership equity gap in the country. We must remove the barriers to homeownership in order to improve this.
- Lack of attainable and affordable housing means Minnesota loses out on its competitive advantage and loses out on recruiting talent and keeping businesses here. We don’t have the oceans of the coasts or the mountains of the west, and our winters are long and cold. Affordability is one of the key drivers of in-migration.
- Lack of attainable and affordable homes for sale affects everyone, everywhere.
Share your story & join the conversation at HomeownershipMN.org.
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