Iowa Finance Authority Announces Housing Innovation Finalists to Pitch at HousingIowa Conference
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) announced the finalists for three statewide housing innovation competitions that will culminate with live pitches at the 2026 HousingIowa Conference, Sept. 9-10 in Des Moines.
The competitions span Iowa’s housing continuum, challenging developers, service providers and housing professionals to advance new approaches to preventing homelessness, expanding rental housing opportunities and supporting homeownership. Finalists will pitch their proposals live before HousingIowa Conference attendees and a panel of industry judges, with winning ideas moving forward from concept to implementation.
Iowa Homelessness Incubator
New approaches to preventing and reducing homelessness will be showcased by New Visions Homeless Services, Shelter House and Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. Their proposals focus on preventing housing crises before shelter is needed, connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with health care and expanding access to career pathway training.
IFA will award up to $200,000 through the competition, with awards of up to $100,000 per winning project to pilot promising ideas and advance the goal of making homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.
Innovation in Rental Housing
Gratus Development, Hoppe Development and Community Housing Initiatives have been selected as finalists for IFA’s Innovation in Rental Housing competition. Their proposals explore adaptive reuse, affordable senior housing, innovative financing and resilient design to address housing needs in Iowa communities.\
The winning project will receive a Federal Housing Tax Credit award representing up to $14 million in federal tax credits to help make the project a reality.
Iowa Homeownership Incubator
Presented in partnership with the Iowa REALTORS®, the Iowa Homeownership Incubator challenges housing professionals to develop creative marketing campaigns featuring real IFA homebuyer stories and helping more Iowans see homeownership as an attainable goal.
Finalists Melisa Fonseca of Alta Vista Real Estate ~ Centro de Bienes Raíces, Jay Avant of LPT Realty and Daniela Downs of RE/MAX Precision will pitch campaigns centered on the many paths to homeownership.
The winning proposal will receive $40,000 in marketing funding to develop and promote the campaign in partnership with IFA.
The 2026 HousingIowa Conference will bring together approximately 1,000 housing professionals, community leaders and partners from across the state to explore the issues, ideas and partnerships shaping the future of housing in Iowa.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
