Minnesota Housing has purchased nearly 25,000 mortgage loans for first-time homebuyers since 2019. More than a third (37%) of these loans have gone to Indigenous, Black, and homeowners of color. In 2024, Minnesota Housing offered the First-Generation Homebuyer Loan Program. This program provided up to $35,000 in deferred, interest-free, forgivable loans to homebuyers in which the borrower and their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) have either: never owned their primary residence or owned a home but lost it due to foreclosure. As a result of this program, more households of color used Minnesota Housing’s first-time homebuyer mortgages. In 2024, 1,719 Indigenous, Black and households of color purchased their first home with a Minnesota Housing mortgage, representing 42% of all Minnesota Housing first-time homebuyer loans. A strategic priority of Minnesota Housing is to keep that percentage above 40%.
 

Our 2024-2027 Strategic Plan recognizes that some communities of shared identities, experiences or geographies disproportionally face disparities in housing outcomes, including people of color. These communities are a priority because the current market is not working for them, and they experience barriers in accessing and navigating affordable housing.

Homeownership is the primary way that most people in Minnesota build wealth. However, many factors create barriers to successful homeownership, including poor or no credit, limited savings and income, existing debt, limited knowledge and trust of the mortgage industry, discrimination and limited access to financing. Minnesota Housing finances home mortgages for Minnesotans with low and moderate incomes who face barriers.

This metric captures the number and share of purchased first-time homebuyer mortgages each year by race and ethnicity. All race and ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (e.g., Black households are non-Latino). Minnesota Housing’s program year runs from October 1 through September 30.