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0%-interest loan program puts economic power in hands of Detroit homeowners

Kate Roff

August 04, 2020 |

Model D |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Homeowners in Detroit can now access home improvement capital to fix up their historic homes, many of which date back to the early 1900s. The aid is in the form of a zero-interest loan which is paid back over 10 years. The program helps homeowners fix their homes, making them safer while removing blight from the community.

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Why Singapore Has One of the Highest Home Ownership Rates

Adam Majendie

July 08, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Singapore

Affordable housing in Singapore has resulted in one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world. In 1964 the government embraced a "Home Ownership for the People Scheme" in which it gave lower and middle-income citizens access to affordable home ownership. Subsidized apartments were sold at low prices and were not to be sold for at least five years after which the real estate value had risen significantly. Apartments sold in 2009, for example, gained almost half a million dollars in value by 2020. New subsidized apartments are under construction and 16,000 have already been sold in the past year.

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Banning foreign home buyers - the New Zealand experiment

Vivienne Nunis

July 15, 2019 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: New Zealand, Auckland

Housing affordability is a crisis that many countries face. New Zealand addressed the issue in a controversial way: by outright banning foreign ownership. Since it has come into effect, real estate pricing has gone down, and more properties are available for New Zealand residents. Critics argue that the ban coincided with world events like the Chinese government limiting how much money could leave the country into foreign events. They caution against attributing the lower prices to the ban itself and that it is still too early to see its true impact.

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How Temporary Tiny Homes Could Solve Dutch Cities' Housing Crises

Feargus O'Sullivan

November 26, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Rotterdam

While more permanent housing is built to meet demand in the Netherlands, the stopgap answer is to build “tiny homes.” Completely built in a factory, these tiny homes still provide all basic housing amenities. They will be laid out in clusters of four and in larger communities to overcome what some worry will be isolating for many people who have nowhere else to turn. As an interim solution, these tiny homes are perfect-but they aren’t built to last, so the goal is to get residents into more permanent housing.

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Financial Empowerment Centers Help City Residents Improve Their Fiscal Health

Oscar Perry Abello

August 06, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Financial Empowerment Centers work with clients to help them build savings, improve credit scores, and take full advance of assistance programs. While the daily demands of poverty often create an inability to plan for the future, the Center's clients have found that counseling has provided a path to engage with these issues and a trusted helper to improve their financial health.

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Developer tests a new way to fund housing for the homeless: private financing

Doug Smith

July 19, 2018 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

In an attempt to increase housing for the homeless in L.A. in a financially sustainable way, FlyAway Homes has started several projects to build homeless housing supported by private investment. Fifty six investors will get a return, though not a large one, on the 9-unit property that will house 32 homeless individuals. This model is more efficient than when a non-profit organization builds homeless housing, and more properties under FlyAway Homes will show if the model is in fact sustainable.

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Renters Get One Step Closer to Homeownership With This Innovative Program

Shaima Shamdeen

June 26, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

Renting Partnerships organizes affordable housing communities that stay affordable. By meeting the expectations of the community, such as paying rent on time, residents can earn and cash out financial equity after staying in their home for five years. The program uses creative financing in the hopes of making housing more equitable.

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Creating Affordable Homes for Multigenerational Living

Kevon Paynter

June 18, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Irvine, California

A new, more-affordable housing option is available for multi-generational families hoping to live together. To combat the “missing middle,” or the dilemma when a family makes too much money for low-income housing but not enough for a sufficient home, Urban Pacific Group is building homes to fill that market gap. The solution is helping families stay together and lead more affordable lifestyles.

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After Centuries of Housing Racism, a Southern City Gets Innovative

Adam Lynch

June 15, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Mississippi

In Jackson, Mississippi, a series of community-led cooperatives are creating opportunities for affordable home ownership. This is part of a trend across the country to create community land trusts. They are financed through donations, other community businesses, or commissions. Though each land trust faces hurdles, they are collectively allowing more access to wealth and ownership in historically low-income neighborhoods.

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How Tenants' Rights Are Flourishing—Right in Trump's New Backyard

Jimmy Tobias

October 09, 2017 |

The Nation (New York) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

In Washington D.C., the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase act, gives tenants the right to be the first in line to buy the building they live in, if it goes up for sale. The city, also has a trust fund that finances affordable housing, and provides funds for people looking to purchase a building and create a co-op. Together, these things make it easier for tenants to access affordable housing, and fight gentrification. So, far the city has 137 co-ops. "Now we get to choose our neighbors, we get to set our own rules, and we’re in control of our living conditions.”

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