A statewide housing needs assessment conducted by the North Dakota State University in partnership with the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency says the state needs to focus on addressing the age of its housing stock, limited housing options, and affordability barriers. Kayla Ver Helst is Director of Public Affairs for the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.
"The statewide housing needs assessment forecasts that our population across the state is going to grow 1.3% by 2025, which is great because we actually experienced a dip in 2021. We're going to recover from that and and up with a net positive by 2025."
Based on this estimate, the state needs more than 9,000 new housing units of all kinds by 2025. Ver Helst says rising mortgage interest rates, construction supply chain and workforce issues, and high inflation are some of the issues impacting affordability in both urban and rural areas.
"Even though we had this 41% increase in median family income, housing costs for renters increased by 49% and housing costs increased by more than 50%. So, everyone is feeling the rising costs in terms of housing."