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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
South Dakota’s Native veteran homeownership rate has edged higher in recent years, but still trails other South Dakotans by a wide margin — a gap that Native housing advocates say represents both a market opportunity and a policy failure that can be fixed with the right investment, capital tools and lender alignment.
A report from the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition shows that 43% of Native veterans in the state own their homes, up from 39% in 2019, but still well below South Dakota’s overall 69% rate. The study, conducted by Big Water Consulting, surveyed 418 Native veterans across all nine reservations in the state between October 2023 and January 2025. Big Water presented the initial findings in June and the final statewide and tribal-specific reports were released in July 2025.
Nearly half of Native veterans surveyed said they want to buy a home. About 30% of those who already own homes want to renovate.
The top reported barriers — inability to save for a down payment, low credit, and lack of available homes — are barriers that Native CDFIs in South Dakota have already begun designing targeted products to address. Lakota Funds offers a matched savings program for Native veterans on Pine Ridge and Rosebud, while Mazaska Owecaso Otipi Financial provides veterans on both reservations with direct homebuyer assistance and a veteran-specific homebuying guide. Coalition members say those types of tools are critical given the higher cost and structural challenges of mortgage lending in Indian Country.
The coalition plans to brief tribal, state and federal policymakers on the findings and expand outreach with lenders and veterans’ service officers. The Cheyenne River Housing Authority will also launch a 12-week Veterans Homebuyer Education course beginning Jan. 26 via Zoom, open statewide to Native veterans.
“We know homeownership is not an easy process for Native families, but with the right support, it can be very doable for our Native veterans,” Tawney Brunsch, acting executive director of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and executive director of Lakota Funds, said in a statement.
The South Dakota coalition says the next phase will focus on helping translate more interest into closed loans, capital deployment, and measurable gains in homeownership across tribal communities.
