The director of the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency says there is still a need for affordable housing in North Dakota – especially in the Northwest.
Jolene Klein outlined for a legislative interim committee the state and federal programs that help developers build housing for low and moderate income people.
"We often hear the comment that housing development is going on at a record pace, that incentives are not necessary, and that the private market can take care of the housing issue," Klein told the interim Economic Impact Committee. "There's truth to that, in that the high-end housing is happening. However, without programs like those I've outlined, housing costs would be much higher, and would continue to put enormous pressure on our low to moderate income households across the state."
Klein says affordable housing is – in her words – a critical component for any community.
"Without that affordable housing, employers are going to continue to have problems recruiting workers and retaining those workers," Klein told the committee. "They're going to have trouble retaining those fixed income households and keeping them a part of the community."
Besides housing, the interim committee is studying such things as infrastructure, child care and emergency services across the state.