Report: North Dakota Population to Rise 20 Percent by 2029

 More homes continue to be built in Fargo, and it’s not just the city that’s growing.

A housing study by the state’s Housing Finance Agency predicts North Dakota’s population will rise 20 percent in the next 13 years.

This growth is also expected to increase the pressure to create more low–income housing, including here in Fargo.

“Locally, the city gives a property tax exemption/a property tax break more accurately to put it for new affordable housing, to help make it more affordable,” says Lynn Fundingsland of the Fargo Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Low income housing usually comes in two forms.

The first involves a tenant paying 30 percent of their income to their rent.

The second, which is more common today, involves tenants paying a flat rate, while the rest is financed through a federal tax credit program.

And while low–income housing is often believed to house those in welfare, Fundingsland says that’s not the case with tenants through the housing authority.

“Our tenants are… they’ve either worked all their life and are now on social security, or they’re limited income due to their disability or they’re a working family who are working full–time,” said Fundingsland.