Housing Counts

Housing Counts Data 2021

Affordable housing development and preservation spiked dramatically in 2021. We saw the highest
numbers of affordable housing units built (3,065) and preserved (4,426) since Housing Counts reporting
began in 2002. Following record highs in 2020, this represents a continued trend of increasing
development and preservation in the Twin Cities region. Success in preserving housing affordability is
due, in large part, to the 4D incentive programs in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which offer property
tax reductions to property owners who commit to keeping rents affordable for ten years. 4D units in
Minneapolis and Saint Paul represented 66% of all homes for which affordability was preserved in 2021.

About the Housing Counts Report Series

Each year since 2002, Family Housing Fund and HousingLink jointly publish data to provide housing leaders and stakeholders with a consistent means of tracking annual affordable housing production, preservation, and loss. The data set provide an annual accounting of affordable housing projects in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and suburban communities, offering a systemic and consistent way of measuring progress to municipal and regional affordable housing goals.

When tracking new production and preservation of affordable housing, there are several points in time when a unit could be “counted.” HousingLink and Family Housing Fund have chosen to count units in the year their funding first closes. Only developments with public and/private capital funding with affordability obligations are listed.

To compare to previous years, view HousingLink’s visualization of the data over time, below.

Notes on the data:

  • The list of projects identifies how many affordable units are planned/preserved at three levels of affordability—30 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). This corresponds with affordability restrictions required by certain funding streams.
  • The data set counts units in the year their project financing first closes and includes only developments with public and/or private capital funding that includes affordability obligations.
  • The report tables divide the projects into three main categories: new production of rental units, new production of homeownership units, and preservation/stabilization of existing rental units.
  • Rental assistance to renters, financial assistance directly to home buyers, and shelter beds are not included in this data set.
  • Developments that are designed specifically to serve seniors are indicated with an asterisk in the reports.
  • Properties included on the preservation/stabilization list were especially at risk of being lost due to major deterioration, financial crisis, or conversion to market-rate rents. This list does not include essential routine capital improvements.
  • Demolition permit numbers are included to give some context to the production numbers in relation to the number of units lost in the region’s housing stock. However, the demolition number comes from demolition permit issues only; because of this, the actual number of units lost, the affordability level, and the condition of these lost units is unknown.

Housing Counts 2021

Housing Counts 2021

Housing Counts 2002-2021

Reports prior to 2021 are available within our Housing Counts 2002-2021 compilation

Questions about the data?

Dan Hylton
Research Manager
HousingLink
dhylton@housinglink.org

Media Inquiries

Sue Speakman-Gomez
President
HousingLink
sgomez@housinglink.org

Other Data & Research

Learn more about HousingLink Research and Data products and resources here.