September 12, 2025 • 18 mins
James Vagle is the CEO of Housing First Minnesota, leading efforts to expand homeownership and strengthen the homebuilding industry. A Navy veteran and seasoned advocate, James brings vision, integrity, and deep policy expertise to Minnesota’s housing future.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
CEOs you should know. I'm Adam West with James Vagley
from Housing First Minnesota. Adam, thanks for having me, welcome. Thanks.
Tell me a little bit about Housing First Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We're an impact organization made up of home builders, remodelers,
land developers, suppliers of goods and services, window companies like Pella,
Marvin Anderson. And our mission is home ownership, home ownership
opportunity for all Minnesotas.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And what does that entail? What is what do I
mean people buy homes? But what does that mean?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, so we're in the we're in the center of
that constellation. We produce home tours. That's what we're best
known for. So if you've been on the Prey of Homes,
that's us.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
We produce that.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
It's the largest home tour platform in the country. We've
added a remodeler showcase and now more recently the Artisan
Home Tour. And our community loves to shop for homes
via home tours. It's a hassle free way to look
at homes throughout the metro see how cities are growing
and changing, and so that's probably how we're best known.
(01:04):
The other is through the public affairs scope that's through
the legislature, before the courts, before city councils throughout the region.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
It is fun to look at those books in the
website and go on the tours and dream a little bit.
That's pretty pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
It's awesome, And you know, our home tour coming up.
I believe our lowest priced model is three hundred and
twenty eight thousand, all the way up to three point
five million, just under four hundred homes in the tour.
So what's a big home tour. It's in over eighty cities,
and we've just had a tremendous community partnership Minnesotan show
up for the parade twice a year.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Cool Housing First Minnesota has been described as the leading
voice for builders remodelers in the housing industry in general
and the state. So how has your organization earned this?
What does it mean for your members?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, you know, I think our leading voice status comes
mainly from the legislative piece that I talked about.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
You know, at the legislature.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Housing is a heavily regulated industry and to bring a
home ownership project from concept to folks, your friends and
neighbors moving in, there's a lot of approvals, a lot
of permitting, a lot of community input, and there's a
lot of debate around how much is enough, what's the
right balance of resource protection, community input, and property rights
(02:20):
and allowing people to get their dream home. So we're
in the middle of all that, and I think we
do a tremendous job balancing all of those interests. It's
interesting we have been on a journey since the Great Recession,
which is a depression in the housing industry, and we've
built the largest bipartisan coalition that we're aware of. So
(02:40):
that's something unique about us. When you think about some
people think about all politics must be really divisive, it's
quite something. We're finding that home ownership really binds Minnesotans together.
It's universally popular. It's not a political party or a
certain ideology.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Minnesotans want to own homes.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So we talked about this a little bit. If you
have cable, when you see those city council meetings or
the planning commissions or whatever, or you could stream it.
You know, they they're all streamed now from you know,
city hall or wherever. And that's I mean, are you're
involved in some of that?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
We are involved in that and those are our partners
in local government, and certainly we look at the legislature
as partners, and everyone's trying to strike the right balance.
And that's what you know, I would I would share
and I do share routinely when I'm you know, making presentation.
We're before them. They've got a job to do, and
we're trying to find that right balance where we've got
you know, community input and resource protection, but also creating
(03:34):
homes at Minnesotan's demand. And a lot of times that
you know that is out in front of the rules process,
meaning things change. You know, the size of households has
drastically changed, so that you know, it takes a while
for the rules to catch up to that and say, look,
there is a huge market, probably our largest market pool.
It's for a twelve hundred square foot home with a
(03:55):
single car garage, and in a lot of cities those
aren't allowed. And so that's a bit of our work
as a leading voice is trying to bring light to
that item and try to find a way for the
community to make those homes happen, to bring back starter homes.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Tell you what, if you have a single garage, it's
less to clean right.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
It is less to clean exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
James. You've been in Housing First Minnesota since two thousand
and five and you became CEO. We didn't mention that
you're CEO of Housing First. Yes, that was back in
twenty twenty two when you stepped into that role. Tell
us about the journey within the organization. What motivated you
to be the CEO?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You know, I came on, like I said, like you said,
in two thousand.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And five, so before the crash, and so that was
if you remember back that far twenty years ago, we
had just a tremendous growth in housing, So just a
tremendous time for me, very impactful time. And then we
went through the crash and that was truly awful time.
That two thousand and eight to twenty twelve was really
a difficult, challenging time. It changed me, It changed I
(04:56):
think everyone in the housing industry in one way or another.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I think those you know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Sticking through it, seeing us come back after twenty twelve
to twenty fifteen and get back to a more normalized
housing market.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Cemented my interest.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I love the industry and when the opportunity you know,
came up, you know, three years ago I was excited
to have the chance.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Are you kind of an expert when it comes to
houses and building them and the construction And yeah, I
would say I have limits technically enough to be dangerous,
but I really understand.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
More of the data, the economics, the larger picture of
what's going on in Minnesota. For example, we're one hundred
thousand housing units short of a balanced housing market. So
when your listeners think about, well, why why is housing
costs so much? Why are housing appreciating so much? We
have literally we have one hundred thousand unit deficit, and
(05:52):
that you know, you've got people competing for.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
A very scarce amount of homes. We need to build
our way out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So, you know, I would say my expertes falls in
that line about understanding the broader housing market, themes and
and how the market functions city to city.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
But we do have great resources.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
You know, there are focus on my team that understand
the technical building wall cavity and how the building science.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Of how homes perform remarkable.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
It's funny you mentioned that the homes we built today
are the highest performing homes in the state. Really something
to see. You know, how innovation and technology has advanced.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, speaking of innovation and technology. So you're a VET.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yes, you're in the Navy, I was yep.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, okay, So how did how did your experience in
the Navy, How does that relate to being CEO or
your involvement with Housing First.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yeah, great question.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
As I mentioned, Housing First is an impact organization, so
was the Navy. The Navy, there is a clarity and
mission and that drives everything, all the efficiencies. It's very
clear in my experience. I was on an aircraft carrier
for four years. We deployed twice and I has found
so much value post Navy, and the clarity and mission
(07:06):
matters very much for a company, whether it's it's Housing First, Minnesota, iHeartRadio,
the US Navy. It's very important to know what you're
swimming towards, what you're sailing towards, and I took that
away and that's really been I think a great help
to our team at Housing First. Ye.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Housing has been part of a lot of national discussions,
top of voter issue, a central theme and a few
of the big Game ads. Also, the American dreams something
is something everybody wants to achieve. What are some of
the biggest challenges that people in Minnesota have or the
face in achieving home ownership, and how how are you
guys addressing those?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, did you see the Super Bowl ad with
Rocket Mortgage? Yes, so it was incredible. It was a
beautiful ad and it was a mosaic and it included
all sorts of life milestones, having a child, partnering with
a spouse, and there's some military evet that appeared to
be coming home from deployment. At the end of the day,
(08:04):
you want to go home. And I think that the
the lack of housing options and the the challenges, especially
for young Minnesotans to access the housing market, those have
come to the surface. So that's why I think voters
are thinking about it in a new way. And that's
changed over my career. I've been in the housing industry
a long time. Wasn't I was that way? And you
(08:25):
know when I bought my first home, my wife and
I when we bought our first home, I would say
it was easy, to be honest, and it is not
easy today for the twenty some things, in the thirty
some things and certain you know, segments of our economy,
our immigrant communities, they're finding incredible roadblocks.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
So to get to your question.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
We have a see of unintended consequences that have served
as roadblocks, and you know it's quite technical, things like zoning.
You know, what worked in the nineties is still on
the books today, and those are policies that drive large
homes on large lots with large garages and upgraded luxury finishes.
(09:05):
Our vision is that we create a full menu. Those
are great options. If you want a large home on
a large lot, there are any number of builders that
will will build you that home. What we need in
the market is to expand that menu to include those
starter homes, those first homes that are probably smaller, more
flexibly built, like we said, the one car garage, and
(09:26):
that's the on ramp into the housing market, and that
allows a more balanced move up market.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Why is it that way? What is the challenge?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The challenge is those starter homes aren't allowed in most
growing cities by the zoning, by the set of rules.
And again I say unintentional because I don't believe that
the majority of these rules were put on the books
to exclude people from the housing market. Because I think
for a time there were enough available homes that existing
(09:56):
homes served as a starting market. Well, now we're one
hundred thousand unit. Sure, we have to build our way
out of this. So we need permission, candidly from the
legislature to bring starter Holmes back. And so, yeah, you're
at the capital a lot. I am taking up residence
in Saint Paul, you know, probably eating at the restaurants
in the area, you know, Yeah, you know, we We've
got a great team. Certainly, that's where I, you know,
(10:19):
ascended in this industry. I spent many many years as
as a shoe leather everyday lobbyist at the legislature. I'm
there today less than I used to be. But we
have a great team at Housing First. That's that's leading
the home ownership discussion. And like I said, we're very
proud that it's it's one of the few bipartisan issues,
true bipartisan issues where we have all four caucuses, both
(10:41):
sides of the aisle, are very focused on saving home
ownership for the rising generation.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And so specifically, what is your kind of your vision
for the future, then.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, ours is our vision is to bring starter Holmes back.
That's job one. If we allowed starter Holmes to be built,
I guarantee you there are builders that would build them
today and the line would go around the block for
people trying to buy those homes. So it's a very
hopeful message. We're very confident that we have we could
(11:12):
put this puzzle together. So it's you know, some issues
in public policy. It's like we're not sure what to do.
We know what to do, we just need the green
light to bring starter homes back. So that's really how
that discussion is unfolding at the Capitol. Now, obviously that's
a change, that's a change for communities to consider, well,
what does this mean? How are neighbors processing the prospect
(11:32):
of starter home developments occurring in their communities?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And we're working to find the right balance.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
So we talked a little bit about the parade to homes. Yeah,
I don't know if we talked about the artists and
home tour, but that's part of the home tours and
how are they connected to home first? How is what
is the relationship?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Yeah, so we're the producer, so we produce the homes,
our members, the Builders of Minnesota are the participants. They
just that partnership has been tremendous. Yeah, the parade of
homes goes back to nineteen forty eight, if you can
believe it really and Minnesotan's just loved it from virtually
day one. They love the idea of being able to
(12:13):
walk through a model home to see what's new and
the technology. We went back into the archives. We celebrated
our seventy fifth anniversary a couple of years ago, and
it was fascinating to look at the very basic rote
technology that nineteen fifty one was groundbreaking. An attached garage
was a luxury amenity that you could see on the
(12:33):
Parade of homes, and you think about that today. I
think many of us, most of us probably that own
a home, haven't attached garage. It's very nice, right you
walk from the house into the garage. So the paratee
of homes has always served as an early adopter's opportunity
to go out and look at what's new in housing.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And then the artisan home tour.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That you mentioned, that's just a tremendous outgrowth. That's a
brand extension into that that high end custom project. And
these are beautiful homes. These are homes valued at three
million dollars plus and you know, very exclusive locations. I'm
like Minnetonka, well, decorated, well decorated appointed. Yeah, and a
(13:16):
lot of that timeless architecture and design finishes that inspire Minnesotans.
And that has just been a tremendous opportunity for folks
to connect with really unique artisan craftsmanship.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And it's cool to dream a little bit. But how
does that affect your What can the average you know,
home buyer do on the tour? What advice do you have?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, well, inspiration.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
There is a segment of folks out on the artisan
home tour that look at wallpaper, that look at different uses,
different color schemes.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And adopt that into their own home.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And then, because we've had such a long run with
home tours, we hear from builders that that people first
encounter them on a home tour five years ago, and
their circumstances change, their capacity to build grow, and so
over over time, you may not be able to afford
an artisan home today, but maybe in five years and
a builder you met five years ago becomes.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
You know, the builder of your dream home.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So it's it's a nice legacy, and there's a connection
between the parade of homes and the artistan and home tour.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The advice is more than just make sure you take
your shoes off when yes.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah we do.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
We do have rules on that and yeah those are
those are easy to follow.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Any changes for this year on the parade, on the
tour that you can talk about, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Just excited about the tour.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
You know, we are growing, will be in Rochester for
the first time and that is a growth community. Really
really excited to have our first parade of home's presence
down in that market. Incredible growth with the Mayo Clinic
and the destination.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I noticed seems like it's kind of blossoming up a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
It really is.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
You've been down to Rochester, you know the area a
little bit. Yeah, and we're we're really excited. We're just
seeing tremendous growth and opportunity and that's one of the
most undersupplied sub markets in the state. Oh, Rochester needs
new homes. So we're really excited to see growth and
to be down there.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Tell me about your nonprofit arm You guys are working
on homelessness in Minnesota. So Housing First Minnesota Foundation, what
is it? What do you what does it do?
Speaker 2 (15:29):
It's our charitable arm our, philanthropic arm The Housing First
Minnesota Foundation has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years,
but really over the last two years, and you mentioned it.
We are in the business of trying to address homelessness
throughout Minnesota, special focus on veteran homelessness. We've been doing
tremendous projects with our partner mac Vie, with Lenar as
(15:52):
our build partner, and we have built over a dozen
homes and we're about to launch our largest project, which
is a multi unit Betfield Veteran Village in Egan, So
just really really excited about that.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
And we're also.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Expanding beyond the veteran homelessness space teen Homelessness and it
really inspired the generosity in the industry and the community
has responded so positively to this, so we're very proud.
We have dream Homes on the Parade of Homes and
those funds go to the Foundation to support our work
to address homelessness in Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
That's fantastic. You have an energy efficiency program, which is
super important that the house of utilities is only going up,
so what can you You have the green Path program
and how does that work?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, Green Path's amazing. It's the largest green building program
in the state. We rate virtually all homes built in
the metro and we're expanding that statewide. You know, you
get a miles per gallon on a car you buy,
we can give you a similar reading on the home
that you're touring on our home tours, and it's called
the Herz Index. It's like golf. You want zero means
(16:56):
you use no energy. So that's a heavily you know,
solar andal but really, you know, we're newly built homes
are high performing and the wall systems, the construction techniques
and the materials are quite remarkable.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
So Green Path captures that with third party.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Rating and testing and you can get just a visual
and an understanding of the performance of the home you're buying.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
It's James Wagley, CEO of Housing First Minnesota. If people
want to find you, they want to get involved with you,
what do they do?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They can find us on social media Instagram, Facebook, You
can find me personally on LinkedIn. I share lots of
information related to all of our programs. On that platform,
you can also join us. Our dream Homes on Tour
are a way that the community can directly support our
charitable arm, the House in First Minnesota Foundation. Those proceeds
go to helping address homelessness throughout Minnesota. And then if
(17:51):
you're an industry member, we have literally something for everyone
and we're a big part of the economy. Seventeen percent
of the economy is related to the housing industry. For
your listeners that are involved in the trades or in
the housing industry at any number of levels, reach out
to us. We have we have something for everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And we talked about that. You're a vet, Thank you
by the way for serving my pleasure, you know. And
how if you know a vet, you know, how do
you how do you do something for them with your organization?
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yes, reach out to us or our partner, a Minnesota
Assistance Counsel for Veterans mc VEE is our partner in
our work to address veteran homelessness and they are a
tremendous resource and we're happy to make that connection.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
James Wagley, CEO, Housing First Minnesota, thank you again for
being here and thank you for serving.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Thanks for having me
CEOs you should know. I'm Adam West with James Vagley
from Housing First Minnesota. Adam, thanks for having me, welcome. Thanks.
Tell me a little bit about Housing First Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We're an impact organization made up of home builders, remodelers,
land developers, suppliers of goods and services, window companies like Pella,
Marvin Anderson. And our mission is home ownership, home ownership
opportunity for all Minnesotas.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And what does that entail? What is what do I
mean people buy homes? But what does that mean?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, so we're in the we're in the center of
that constellation. We produce home tours. That's what we're best
known for. So if you've been on the Prey of Homes,
that's us.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
We produce that.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
It's the largest home tour platform in the country. We've
added a remodeler showcase and now more recently the Artisan
Home Tour. And our community loves to shop for homes
via home tours. It's a hassle free way to look
at homes throughout the metro see how cities are growing
and changing, and so that's probably how we're best known.
(01:04):
The other is through the public affairs scope that's through
the legislature, before the courts, before city councils throughout the region.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
It is fun to look at those books in the
website and go on the tours and dream a little bit.
That's pretty pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
It's awesome, And you know, our home tour coming up.
I believe our lowest priced model is three hundred and
twenty eight thousand, all the way up to three point
five million, just under four hundred homes in the tour.
So what's a big home tour. It's in over eighty cities,
and we've just had a tremendous community partnership Minnesotan show
up for the parade twice a year.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Cool Housing First Minnesota has been described as the leading
voice for builders remodelers in the housing industry in general
and the state. So how has your organization earned this?
What does it mean for your members?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, you know, I think our leading voice status comes
mainly from the legislative piece that I talked about.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
You know, at the legislature.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Housing is a heavily regulated industry and to bring a
home ownership project from concept to folks, your friends and
neighbors moving in, there's a lot of approvals, a lot
of permitting, a lot of community input, and there's a
lot of debate around how much is enough, what's the
right balance of resource protection, community input, and property rights
(02:20):
and allowing people to get their dream home. So we're
in the middle of all that, and I think we
do a tremendous job balancing all of those interests. It's
interesting we have been on a journey since the Great Recession,
which is a depression in the housing industry, and we've
built the largest bipartisan coalition that we're aware of. So
(02:40):
that's something unique about us. When you think about some
people think about all politics must be really divisive, it's
quite something. We're finding that home ownership really binds Minnesotans together.
It's universally popular. It's not a political party or a
certain ideology.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Minnesotans want to own homes.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So we talked about this a little bit. If you
have cable, when you see those city council meetings or
the planning commissions or whatever, or you could stream it.
You know, they they're all streamed now from you know,
city hall or wherever. And that's I mean, are you're
involved in some of that?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
We are involved in that and those are our partners
in local government, and certainly we look at the legislature
as partners, and everyone's trying to strike the right balance.
And that's what you know, I would I would share
and I do share routinely when I'm you know, making presentation.
We're before them. They've got a job to do, and
we're trying to find that right balance where we've got
you know, community input and resource protection, but also creating
(03:34):
homes at Minnesotan's demand. And a lot of times that
you know that is out in front of the rules process,
meaning things change. You know, the size of households has
drastically changed, so that you know, it takes a while
for the rules to catch up to that and say, look,
there is a huge market, probably our largest market pool.
It's for a twelve hundred square foot home with a
(03:55):
single car garage, and in a lot of cities those
aren't allowed. And so that's a bit of our work
as a leading voice is trying to bring light to
that item and try to find a way for the
community to make those homes happen, to bring back starter homes.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Tell you what, if you have a single garage, it's
less to clean right.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
It is less to clean exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
James. You've been in Housing First Minnesota since two thousand
and five and you became CEO. We didn't mention that
you're CEO of Housing First. Yes, that was back in
twenty twenty two when you stepped into that role. Tell
us about the journey within the organization. What motivated you
to be the CEO?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
You know, I came on, like I said, like you said,
in two thousand.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And five, so before the crash, and so that was
if you remember back that far twenty years ago, we
had just a tremendous growth in housing, So just a
tremendous time for me, very impactful time. And then we
went through the crash and that was truly awful time.
That two thousand and eight to twenty twelve was really
a difficult, challenging time. It changed me, It changed I
(04:56):
think everyone in the housing industry in one way or another.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I think those you know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Sticking through it, seeing us come back after twenty twelve
to twenty fifteen and get back to a more normalized
housing market.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Cemented my interest.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I love the industry and when the opportunity you know,
came up, you know, three years ago I was excited
to have the chance.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Are you kind of an expert when it comes to
houses and building them and the construction And yeah, I
would say I have limits technically enough to be dangerous,
but I really understand.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
More of the data, the economics, the larger picture of
what's going on in Minnesota. For example, we're one hundred
thousand housing units short of a balanced housing market. So
when your listeners think about, well, why why is housing
costs so much? Why are housing appreciating so much? We
have literally we have one hundred thousand unit deficit, and
(05:52):
that you know, you've got people competing for.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
A very scarce amount of homes. We need to build
our way out of it.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So, you know, I would say my expertes falls in
that line about understanding the broader housing market, themes and
and how the market functions city to city.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
But we do have great resources.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
You know, there are focus on my team that understand
the technical building wall cavity and how the building science.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Of how homes perform remarkable.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
It's funny you mentioned that the homes we built today
are the highest performing homes in the state. Really something
to see. You know, how innovation and technology has advanced.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, speaking of innovation and technology. So you're a VET.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yes, you're in the Navy, I was yep.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, okay, So how did how did your experience in
the Navy, How does that relate to being CEO or
your involvement with Housing First.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yeah, great question.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
As I mentioned, Housing First is an impact organization, so
was the Navy. The Navy, there is a clarity and
mission and that drives everything, all the efficiencies. It's very
clear in my experience. I was on an aircraft carrier
for four years. We deployed twice and I has found
so much value post Navy, and the clarity and mission
(07:06):
matters very much for a company, whether it's it's Housing First, Minnesota, iHeartRadio,
the US Navy. It's very important to know what you're
swimming towards, what you're sailing towards, and I took that
away and that's really been I think a great help
to our team at Housing First. Ye.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Housing has been part of a lot of national discussions,
top of voter issue, a central theme and a few
of the big Game ads. Also, the American dreams something
is something everybody wants to achieve. What are some of
the biggest challenges that people in Minnesota have or the
face in achieving home ownership, and how how are you
guys addressing those?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You know, did you see the Super Bowl ad with
Rocket Mortgage? Yes, so it was incredible. It was a
beautiful ad and it was a mosaic and it included
all sorts of life milestones, having a child, partnering with
a spouse, and there's some military evet that appeared to
be coming home from deployment. At the end of the day,
(08:04):
you want to go home. And I think that the
the lack of housing options and the the challenges, especially
for young Minnesotans to access the housing market, those have
come to the surface. So that's why I think voters
are thinking about it in a new way. And that's
changed over my career. I've been in the housing industry
a long time. Wasn't I was that way? And you
(08:25):
know when I bought my first home, my wife and
I when we bought our first home, I would say
it was easy, to be honest, and it is not
easy today for the twenty some things, in the thirty
some things and certain you know, segments of our economy,
our immigrant communities, they're finding incredible roadblocks.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
So to get to your question.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
We have a see of unintended consequences that have served
as roadblocks, and you know it's quite technical, things like zoning.
You know, what worked in the nineties is still on
the books today, and those are policies that drive large
homes on large lots with large garages and upgraded luxury finishes.
(09:05):
Our vision is that we create a full menu. Those
are great options. If you want a large home on
a large lot, there are any number of builders that
will will build you that home. What we need in
the market is to expand that menu to include those
starter homes, those first homes that are probably smaller, more
flexibly built, like we said, the one car garage, and
(09:26):
that's the on ramp into the housing market, and that
allows a more balanced move up market.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Why is it that way? What is the challenge?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
The challenge is those starter homes aren't allowed in most
growing cities by the zoning, by the set of rules.
And again I say unintentional because I don't believe that
the majority of these rules were put on the books
to exclude people from the housing market. Because I think
for a time there were enough available homes that existing
(09:56):
homes served as a starting market. Well, now we're one
hundred thousand unit. Sure, we have to build our way
out of this. So we need permission, candidly from the
legislature to bring starter Holmes back. And so, yeah, you're
at the capital a lot. I am taking up residence
in Saint Paul, you know, probably eating at the restaurants
in the area, you know, Yeah, you know, we We've
got a great team. Certainly, that's where I, you know,
(10:19):
ascended in this industry. I spent many many years as
as a shoe leather everyday lobbyist at the legislature. I'm
there today less than I used to be. But we
have a great team at Housing First. That's that's leading
the home ownership discussion. And like I said, we're very
proud that it's it's one of the few bipartisan issues,
true bipartisan issues where we have all four caucuses, both
(10:41):
sides of the aisle, are very focused on saving home
ownership for the rising generation.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And so specifically, what is your kind of your vision
for the future, then.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Yeah, ours is our vision is to bring starter Holmes back.
That's job one. If we allowed starter Holmes to be built,
I guarantee you there are builders that would build them
today and the line would go around the block for
people trying to buy those homes. So it's a very
hopeful message. We're very confident that we have we could
(11:12):
put this puzzle together. So it's you know, some issues
in public policy. It's like we're not sure what to do.
We know what to do, we just need the green
light to bring starter homes back. So that's really how
that discussion is unfolding at the Capitol. Now, obviously that's
a change, that's a change for communities to consider, well,
what does this mean? How are neighbors processing the prospect
(11:32):
of starter home developments occurring in their communities?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And we're working to find the right balance.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
So we talked a little bit about the parade to homes. Yeah,
I don't know if we talked about the artists and
home tour, but that's part of the home tours and
how are they connected to home first? How is what
is the relationship?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Yeah, so we're the producer, so we produce the homes,
our members, the Builders of Minnesota are the participants. They
just that partnership has been tremendous. Yeah, the parade of
homes goes back to nineteen forty eight, if you can
believe it really and Minnesotan's just loved it from virtually
day one. They love the idea of being able to
(12:13):
walk through a model home to see what's new and
the technology. We went back into the archives. We celebrated
our seventy fifth anniversary a couple of years ago, and
it was fascinating to look at the very basic rote
technology that nineteen fifty one was groundbreaking. An attached garage
was a luxury amenity that you could see on the
(12:33):
Parade of homes, and you think about that today. I
think many of us, most of us probably that own
a home, haven't attached garage. It's very nice, right you
walk from the house into the garage. So the paratee
of homes has always served as an early adopter's opportunity
to go out and look at what's new in housing.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And then the artisan home tour.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That you mentioned, that's just a tremendous outgrowth. That's a
brand extension into that that high end custom project. And
these are beautiful homes. These are homes valued at three
million dollars plus and you know, very exclusive locations. I'm
like Minnetonka, well, decorated, well decorated appointed. Yeah, and a
(13:16):
lot of that timeless architecture and design finishes that inspire Minnesotans.
And that has just been a tremendous opportunity for folks
to connect with really unique artisan craftsmanship.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And it's cool to dream a little bit. But how
does that affect your What can the average you know,
home buyer do on the tour? What advice do you have?
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, well, inspiration.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
There is a segment of folks out on the artisan
home tour that look at wallpaper, that look at different uses,
different color schemes.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
And adopt that into their own home.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And then, because we've had such a long run with
home tours, we hear from builders that that people first
encounter them on a home tour five years ago, and
their circumstances change, their capacity to build grow, and so
over over time, you may not be able to afford
an artisan home today, but maybe in five years and
a builder you met five years ago becomes.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
You know, the builder of your dream home.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So it's it's a nice legacy, and there's a connection
between the parade of homes and the artistan and home tour.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The advice is more than just make sure you take
your shoes off when yes.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah we do.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
We do have rules on that and yeah those are
those are easy to follow.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Any changes for this year on the parade, on the
tour that you can talk about, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Just excited about the tour.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
You know, we are growing, will be in Rochester for
the first time and that is a growth community. Really
really excited to have our first parade of home's presence
down in that market. Incredible growth with the Mayo Clinic
and the destination.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I noticed seems like it's kind of blossoming up a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
It really is.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
You've been down to Rochester, you know the area a
little bit. Yeah, and we're we're really excited. We're just
seeing tremendous growth and opportunity and that's one of the
most undersupplied sub markets in the state. Oh, Rochester needs
new homes. So we're really excited to see growth and
to be down there.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Tell me about your nonprofit arm You guys are working
on homelessness in Minnesota. So Housing First Minnesota Foundation, what
is it? What do you what does it do?
Speaker 2 (15:29):
It's our charitable arm our, philanthropic arm The Housing First
Minnesota Foundation has experienced tremendous growth over the last five years,
but really over the last two years, and you mentioned it.
We are in the business of trying to address homelessness
throughout Minnesota, special focus on veteran homelessness. We've been doing
tremendous projects with our partner mac Vie, with Lenar as
(15:52):
our build partner, and we have built over a dozen
homes and we're about to launch our largest project, which
is a multi unit Betfield Veteran Village in Egan, So
just really really excited about that.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
And we're also.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Expanding beyond the veteran homelessness space teen Homelessness and it
really inspired the generosity in the industry and the community
has responded so positively to this, so we're very proud.
We have dream Homes on the Parade of Homes and
those funds go to the Foundation to support our work
to address homelessness in Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
That's fantastic. You have an energy efficiency program, which is
super important that the house of utilities is only going up,
so what can you You have the green Path program
and how does that work?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, Green Path's amazing. It's the largest green building program
in the state. We rate virtually all homes built in
the metro and we're expanding that statewide. You know, you
get a miles per gallon on a car you buy,
we can give you a similar reading on the home
that you're touring on our home tours, and it's called
the Herz Index. It's like golf. You want zero means
(16:56):
you use no energy. So that's a heavily you know,
solar andal but really, you know, we're newly built homes
are high performing and the wall systems, the construction techniques
and the materials are quite remarkable.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
So Green Path captures that with third party.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Rating and testing and you can get just a visual
and an understanding of the performance of the home you're buying.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
It's James Wagley, CEO of Housing First Minnesota. If people
want to find you, they want to get involved with you,
what do they do?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They can find us on social media Instagram, Facebook, You
can find me personally on LinkedIn. I share lots of
information related to all of our programs. On that platform,
you can also join us. Our dream Homes on Tour
are a way that the community can directly support our
charitable arm, the House in First Minnesota Foundation. Those proceeds
go to helping address homelessness throughout Minnesota. And then if
(17:51):
you're an industry member, we have literally something for everyone
and we're a big part of the economy. Seventeen percent
of the economy is related to the housing industry. For
your listeners that are involved in the trades or in
the housing industry at any number of levels, reach out
to us. We have we have something for everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And we talked about that. You're a vet, Thank you
by the way for serving my pleasure, you know. And
how if you know a vet, you know, how do
you how do you do something for them with your organization?
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yes, reach out to us or our partner, a Minnesota
Assistance Counsel for Veterans mc VEE is our partner in
our work to address veteran homelessness and they are a
tremendous resource and we're happy to make that connection.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
James Wagley, CEO, Housing First Minnesota, thank you again for
being here and thank you for serving.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Thanks for having me
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