Fair Housing Month Looks to Create More Affordable Homes

Advocates are working to make 42,000 new homes available to Iowans by 2030, and that move is spearheading efforts to create more affordable living opportunities during Fair Housing Month. Affordable housing is an issue across the country as interest rates and a tight real estate market have sent single-family home prices and rent costs sharply higher. Ashley Jared with the Iowa Finance Authority says state officials are using the month-long opportunity to highlight efforts to make housing more available to people in the state who have historically been shut out.

This is the 55th anniversary of the federal Fair Housing Act, established in 1968 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to eliminate housing discrimination.

Jared says the Finance Authority has created online tools designed for home buyers, and for renters has added more filters to find affordable housing regardless of circumstances and location, something she says renters told them was missing.

Jared says when it comes to home buyers, the biggest obstacle is having enough cash saved for a down payment, especially with home prices on the rise in Iowa, even if only slightly.