Small housing changes add up to big opportunity

We can improve housing opportunities in your neighborhood, and you might not ever even know it.

Des Moines recently legalized the Accessory Dwelling Unit in far more places, and our colleagues at HOME, Inc. are about to put their first one on the market. ADUs are just a small home that shares a lot with a larger single family home.

The ADU being built by HOME Inc is almost finished.

HOME Inc’s ADU in Oak Park is nearing completion and brings many advantages:

• ADUs allow new housing in existing neighborhoods you may not even notice.

• They take advantage of existing community infrastructure.

• They can be an affordable option, because the land they sit on is already paid for.

Des Moines recently dramatically expanded the portion of the city where ADUs can be built. That’s a good example of how changes to zoning law are essential to housing progress in our communities.

Unfortunately, zoning regulations often block housing solutions that would benefit communities by banning certain types of housing or driving up costs. Some communities recognize this and are taking action to change their practices.

Look back: At our housing symposium in April, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity leader Lance Henning told the audience that for every $1000 increase in the price of home, hundreds of local families lose the opportunity to buy.

Ideas like accessory dwelling units, missing middle housing, and more are a way to push back against that worrisome trend.

We’re closely watching the construction of HOME Inc’s ADU and look forward to sharing a tour when it’s completed. For now check out our latest video tour below and sign up to see the next update.

It's time to close racial gaps in housing

People of color frequently experience worse housing outcomes in Greater Des Moines than the community as a whole.

But new partnerships are coming together to narrow the gap in areas where it persists, like homeownership.

Like so many communities, Greater Des Moines has work to do to overcome historic housing discrimination like we chronicled in our Redlining in Des Moines online experience.

The consequences persist: Iowa’s rates of Black and Latinx homeownership rates are lower than the national average, according to a report the Iowa Association of Realtors commissioned.

• 18.6 points lower for Black Iowans versus nationally

• 9.6 points lower for Latinx Iowans versus nationally

A group of financial institutions, real estate professionals, community organizations and others have gathered to work on this challenge. The effort is convened as part of the One Economy project.

One promising local program to boost Black homeownership in response to that work is Journey to Homeownership by our colleagues at Neighborhood Finance Corporation.

Other organizations and financial institutions are also stepping up to improve their efforts. Nationally, an effort called 3 by 30 is working to create 3 million new Black homeowners by 2030.

On the local scene, another compelling effort is the Iowa Latinx Project which last year released the report Nuestro Iowa (Our Iowa) detailing "statistics and stories from the Central Iowa Latino community" including on housing.

What do all of these efforts have in common?

• First, they rely on cross-sector partnerships - with stakeholders from the community and government joining business leaders in the housing, real estate, and lending sectors (and beyond).

• And second, they focus on digging deep to create systems to support equitable prosperity.

The Polk County Housing Trust Fund is committed to supporting, learning, and growing within these efforts to enhance housing opportunities for for everyone in Greater Des Moines. Sign up to stay informed about our work.

One more thing: The image for this post on social media shows data from the National Equity Atlas, which is useful source of information on racial and economic equity.

Housing is holding back Iowa's workforce

The struggle to afford housing is a fact of life for the working poor in every community across Greater Des Moines.

Yet solutions are available to keep opportunity in reach. A local initiative called Here We Grow is helping share what works.

It’s a paradox: Communities people flock to for their prosperity are often places where it's more difficult to live on an hourly wage.

Business leaders have noticed. A recent statewide survey published by the Business Record shows 62% of business and economic development leaders in Iowa think the state needs to change how we think about housing to get ahead.

It’s happening here too. This map shows how many renters earning under $50,000 are struggling to afford the rent in each metro city.

Unfortunately, those struggling include many of the essential workers in our community, including child care workers, home health aides, retail salespersons, teaching assistants and others. One recent study found that there are over 41,000 workers in our 5-county region who can't afford to live on their own, even when earning in the 90th percentile for their occupation.

Through the Here We Grow effort, a Capital Crossroads initiative, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund is helping foster a regional conversation about new solutions.

And there’s reason for optimism. Here's just some of the good news we summarized in our annual report that dropped yesterday.

• West Des Moines used local funds to support workforce housing in Valley Junction.

• Waukee recently offered a request for proposals to build workforce housing near Northwest High School.

• Johnston helped assemble land to add multi-family housing near its new Johnston Town Center campus.

• Des Moines adjusted tax incentives to promote missing middle housing.

We’re working to continue to build momentum for workforce housing solutions the region needs. Sign up to stay informed about our work.