As housing affordability continues to take center stage across Minnesota and beyond, the conversation around policy, cost, and access continues to evolve. While many voices contribute to the discussion, insights from those working directly within the housing industry offer a critical, real-world perspective. Here, Nick Erickson, executive director of Housing Affordability Institute, shares insight into the organization’s work and its role in shaping the path forward.
Q: What is Housing Affordability Institute, and why was it created?
Founded in 2018 by Housing First Minnesota, Housing Affordability Institute is a housing policy think tank that focuses on advancing homeownership and housing affordability. Like Housing First Minnesota Foundation, the Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary of the association.
As the housing affordability issue became part of the national public discourse in the late 2010s, one voice was missing from the conversation: that of the industry. Being closest to the homebuyer, builders, developers, remodelers, and their trade partners are the best equipped to talk about the frontline challenges to housing production, affordability, and homeownership.
Recognizing the need for this perspective and the absence of organizations representing it, the association’s Board of Directors established Housing Affordability Institute in 2018 to contribute a more grounded, experience-based voice to housing policy discussions.
Q: What types of insights or data does the Institute provide that members might not find elsewhere, and why should builders, remodelers, and industry experts pay attention to the work coming out of the Institute?
Through its programming, Housing Affordability Institute focuses on documenting and communicating the expertise and real-world challenges faced by the industry. These perspectives are not widely represented in broader housing policy discussions. While this work may feel familiar to members, it often introduces new information to policymakers and other audiences who are less exposed to the day-to-day realities of housing production and affordability.
A recent example is the Institute’s April 2026 report on energy efficiency. We all know new homes are more efficient than older homes. We also know that older homes make up the majority of our housing stock, both locally and nationally. Yet, policymakers present solutions that treat new homes as the problem.
Q: Since its founding, how has the Institute evolved in terms of its research, influence, and reach?
Housing Affordability Institute was founded to highlight the growing barriers to homeownership and new home affordability. Our commitment has not changed, but we have seen a broadening of our audience and increased demand from lawmakers and policy-centric organizations across the country.
In the past year, we’ve expanded to bring in more external experts to assist with our programming. Housing Affordability Institute has released two reports from housing economist Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D., in the past year. The first report highlighted the value of homeownership at both the individual and societal levels, while the second report, released in November of last year, examined the state’s declining homeownership rate.
Member firm ARCXIS also assisted with research and analysis on two recent reports, one of which highlighted the potential cost impacts of the state’s 2038 energy code mandate, and another that examined energy efficiency in five housing markets across several decades. We’ve also relied on data from the Minnesota Zoning Atlas to augment research on the limited availability of starter home lot options in Minnesota.
The Institute’s existence has attracted other groups at both the state and national level to participate in the housing reform discussion in Minnesota.
Q: How has the Institute’s work been used to inform policy discussions surrounding housing affordability?
Since its first report, Priced Out, in 2019, Housing Affordability Institute has helped shape the housing policy discussion in Minnesota. Beyond our original research, our single-subject policy briefings have been instrumental in raising the “housing IQ” of the media and lawmakers.
Due to our unique view, the Institute has emerged as a critical voice in the housing reform discussion beyond Minnesota. Several influential organizations developing model legislation have relied on the Institute’s expertise for examining potential state-level solutions to the housing crisis.
With policymakers in Washington, D.C., examining federal housing reform earlier this year, the Institute had the unique opportunity to provide congressional staff a briefing on barriers to homeownership-centric construction.
Q: What are the Institute’s top priorities for the foreseeable future?
Since its founding, the Institute has focused on addressing the most critical barriers to housing production, new home affordability, and homeownership access. These issues will always be at the center of the Institute’s focus.
In Minnesota, like in many other states, the largest barriers are at the local level. With Minnesota ranking among the nation’s most over-regulated housing markets, the Institute is well positioned to highlight the challenges facing housing affordability in the state.
Building codes are emerging as a topic for policy experts nationally, yet few of the organizations examining the cost impacts of building codes have worked in building code development. Highlighting changes to both the development of model codes and local code adoption are areas in which the Institute can add value and expertise.
Reporting on state legislation is also a key priority, as there are good ideas being introduced in many state capitols. The Institute is one of only a few organizations compiling lists of the impactful work happening across the country. Lawmakers in several states, including Minnesota, have come to rely on our data and knowledge of what good ideas are being introduced nationally.
To learn more about Housing Affordability Institute, visit HousingAffordabilityInstitute.org
