At the state of the state address this January, Governor Burgum announced a housing initiative to combat the housing shortage in our state. A housing advisory committee was established to discuss the issue and listening sessions were conducted around the state to find out what our needs are.
David Flohr is the executive director of the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. He says the results are in, and soon the governor will be announcing some recommendations on what the legislature can do to help with the housing shortage.
"t depends upon the area, the community. What's needed? Do they need multifamily housing? Do they need single family housing? Do they need both? How many units do they need based on their local economy? So, we'll see what comes of that, and then, what will the legislature do?"
Flohr says the legislature has supported housing development incentive grants, technical education centers, and other programs to fight the housing shortage in the past. Those programs always need funding. But Flohr says what they’re finding is that it often comes down to the communities themselves.
"Really, it's the local communities, the private sector, they're the ones that are going to make the real difference on this—how do local communities get the private sector to boom?"
Flohr says once the results are released, it's up to the legislature to decide on what approach to take. He says it’s a balance between local control and state influence