Offering solutions for Iowa’s housing shortage

Iowa faces a housing shortage, needing 25,000 more homes by 2030, which is driving up housing costs and making it hard for renters to qualify for loans. Homeowners are dealing with rising property taxes and construction costs. To improve affordability, five bills propose expanding first-time homebuyer savings, creating a home improvement fund, offering tax credits for new housing, capping rent increases, and refunding rental application fees for denied applicants. Collaboration is key.