As interest rates and housing prices rise, homeownership is increasingly rising out of reach for many low- to moderate-income buyers.
Assisting those buyers, affordable housing provider Dwelling Place plans to build a pair of homes along Fuller Avenue south of Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids’ Baxter Neighborhood.
Jacob Horner, Chief Real Estate Development Officer says Dwelling Place can sell the homes below market value through its Community Land Trust in which it retains ownership of the land when the buyer sells it.
“It’s called ‘shared equity housing.’ The buyer gets a share of the appreciation and value. They also receive anything they put down on the home as equity or paid down on their mortgage., The remaining value goes toward discounting the home for the next buyer.”
The property was previously donated by Steelcase chairman Peter Wege and a city grant will partly fund building the 1,400 square foot, 3-bedroom homes expected to sell at $200,000 or less.
“The idea is that we’ll have a perpetual inventory of these homes that people will be able to come into Grand Rapids and buy, put down roots. It kind of takes those homes out of the market so they’ll always be available for that.”
Dwelling Place lists 22 homes built so far under its Community Land Trust, and at least ten more projects planned.
