The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Minnesota Legislature.

Minnesota Information

• Builders Association of the Twin Cities - An association of professionals in the building trades. The website features public policy updates and current data such as, HotSheets, monthly housing market indicator reports for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
• Family Housing Fund - An organization created by Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the McKnight Foundation to preserve and expand quality affordable housing for families with low and moderate incomes in the metropolitan area. Many of the fund's reports are online.
• Greater Minnesota Housing Fund - An organization that seeks to work directly with local communities, employers, builders, and state and local public agencies in greater Minnesota to address housing shortages. They have made available a number of research reports and bibliographies on first-time homeownership, town planning, and energy efficiency.
• Heading Home Minnesota - Includes Minnesota's Business Plan to End Homelessness and seven regional Heading Home initiatives across the state.
• HousingLink - A nonprofit organization providing information about affordable rental housing options in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Resources include basic housing information, a rental housing referral service, and foreclosure reports.
• Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities -- Published by Minnesota's Attorney General's Office. This site also provides consumer information on housing issues, as well as information on buying, selling, and remodeling.
• Metropolitan Council Regional Housing - Links and information about the Metropolitan Council's housing programs for the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
• Minnesota Home Ownership Center - This organization "promotes sustainable home ownership for low and moderate income Minnesotans" and includes information on foreclosure postponement.
• Minnesota Housing Finance Agency - A state agency that provides financial and related customer assistance so that Minnesotans have decent, safe, and affordable housing. Includes information on home mortgage loans.
• Minnesota Construction Codes and Licensing Division - The Minnesota state office responsible for administering the Minnesota State Building Code.
• Minnesota Housing Partnership - A statewide coalition of individuals and organizations concerned about the need for affordable housing.
• Minnesota Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Minnesota-specific information on HUD properties, rental subsidies, and mortgage assistance.
• Amherst H. Wilder Foundation - A non-profit health and human services organization that issues several reports on homelessness and housing in Minnesota, including a triennial statewide homelessness study.

Federal Information

• U.S. Census Bureau
  • American Housing Survey - National and metropolitan data on the nation's housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers.
  • Housing Topics - One-stop shopping for statistics on homeownership, housing affordability, housing vacancy, and residential segregation.
  • Homeownership Rates by State, 1900 to 2000 - Historical data derived from the decennial censuses of housing. See also homeownership rates for 1950-1990.
  • Homeownership Rates by State: 1984 to 2001 - State-by-state comparisons of current homeownership rates.
  • Homeownership Rates for the 75 Largest Metropolitan Areas: 1986 to 2001 - Homeownership and vacancy rates for the 75 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.
  • Housing Characteristics in the U.S. - An interesting look back at housing from 1940 to 2000. Includes state tables on trends in living alone and recent movers.
  • Building Permits Survey - Provides national, state, and metropolitan area data on new housing units authorized by building permits.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - Locate information about HUD's research, publications, and programs:
  • Get Involved in My Community - Information on HUD's programs that help communities grow and create housing opportunities.
  • Homelessness - An index of program and publication information on homeless issues.
  • HUD USER - The primary source for Federal Government information on housing and community development policy and programs. Includes a searchable database.
  • Office of Housing - Home sales statistics, mortgage calculators, fair housing laws, and more.

Housing Finance, Advocacy Groups, Research, & Statistics

• The Cohousing Network - A national organization whose purpose is to promote and encourage the cohousing concept, also known as collaborative housing.
• Fannie Mae - Provides extensive information about financing for homeownership.
• Ginnie Mae - A program from the U.S. government which seeks to ensure that home mortgage funds are available throughout the United States, including in rural and urban areas. Includes Your Path to Homeownership, a guide to buying a home for first-time and low-income home buyers.
• Joint Center for Housing Studies - Harvard University's center for information and research on the relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends.
• National Association of Home Builders Economic and Housing Data - Housing data and statistics from the National Association of Home Builders.
• National Coalition for the Homeless - The NCH's mission is to end homelessness through public education and advocacy. Provides fact sheets about homelessness.
• National Conference of State Legislatures - NCSL's foreclosures page includes state legislation and reports. (Free registration required for non-legislative users.)
• National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) - A national nonprofit organization whose members are Housing Finance Agencies with statewide authority.
• National Housing Conference - A national organization advancing affordable housing and community development causes.
• National Housing Institute - An organization committed to solving the nation's low income housing crisis. Learn about NHI's research and program development in Shelterforce, the group's online magazine.
• National Low Income Housing Coalition - A national advocacy group for affordable housing providing research, education, and technical assistance to local, state and national organizations trying to develop solutions to critical housing needs. Publishes Out of Reach, an annual report comparing wages and rents in every county, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), combined nonmetropolitan area, and state in the United States.