By: Insight News Staff
7/8/2020
Today, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig hosted policymakers and real estate professionals to learn more about and to collaborate on the best ways to address racial disparities in homeownership in Minnesota.
“In Minnesota, the homeownership rate among white households is 77% compared to only 24% among Black households. Today, I brought folks together to discuss this issue and how we can address it so that everyone can fulfill the American dream,” said Craig. “At the end of the day, this is about making sure families can pass that American dream on to their children.”
Today’s discussion focused on moving beyond equity-based language to equity-based actions to increase homeownership, including the following recommendations:
- Reexamining existing policies at the state and federal level to determine what’s working and what’s not from an equity perspective.
- Addressing inequity will involve a range of policy solutions, from increasing the affordable housing supply to expanding assistance to first-time homebuyers.
- Policies must be continually revisited and revised to ensure they are both effective and equitable.
Panelists participating in today’s discussion were:
Jennifer Ho, Commissioner, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Ryan Baumtrog, Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Community Development, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Chris Coleman, President and CEO, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
Alene Tchourumoff, SVP of Community Development and Center for Indian Country Development, Minneapolis Federal Reserve
Trent Bowman, National Real Estate Brokers Twin Cities and Vice President and Community Development Officer, Old National Bank
Dr. Brittany Lewis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer Research in Action
Craig represents Minnesota’s second congressional district which covers the south Twin Cities metro area and contains all of Scott, Dakota, Goodhue, and Wabasha counties. It also contains part of northern and eastern Rice County including the city of Northfield, and southern Washington County including Burnsville and Eagan.