Affordable Housing Projects

For your weekend reading, some critically important findings out this week from Raj Chetty and the team at Opportunity Insights . This rigorous study focuses on HOPE VI, which replaced high-poverty public housing with mixed-income housing in places throughout the country, starting in the early 1990s. The benefit for low-income kids of building relationships with peers from higher-income families was astonishing: as Nick Kristof notes, a 17 percent increase in the likelihood of attending college, a projected half-million-dollar boost in earnings, and, for boys, a 20 percent lower chance of ending up incarcerated. It’s an important addition to Dr. Chetty’s unmatched body of work revealing the factors that shape opportunity in America. And it underlines a larger truth: the environments in which our kids live, learn, and grow have exceptional power to shape their trajectory. When leaders make wise decisions, young people will rise. This new research also serves as a powerful reminder about both the benefits and costs of community change. One of the HOPE VI sites highlighted was Techwood Homes in downtown Atlanta, where I volunteered while attending Morehouse in the late 80s. Before their demolition, the Techwood Homes were notorious, but they were also people’s homes — a place with history that caused a real sense of loss when they were torn down. What replaced them were far better places to live — and gave young people far better life opportunities, as Dr. Chetty’s research shows. There’s much for us to learn about making change that is not just beneficial, but also humane and empathetic. https://lnkd.in/eb5cPNpN

In January, Opportunity Insights published a report examining the long-term effect of the HOPE VI program. To refresh, HOPE VI was one of the most ambitious efforts to break up urban concentrations of poverty in U.S. history. From 1993 to 2010, the program invested $17 billion in public and private capital to revitalize over 250 high poverty public housing projects. The method of intervention was harsh and decisive: funds were used to demolish and replace “severely distressed” public housing projects with developments that were mixed income and better integrated with surrounding communities and local schools. The Opportunity Insights research vindicates the hard, controversial decisions that were made decades ago. Researchers found that children living in economically integrated developments earned more, were more likely to attend college, and were less likely to be incarcerated, driven by network effects and changes in social interactions. As someone deeply involved in the bipartisan design and delivery of HOPE VI in the 1990s, my latest piece celebrates the research findings. But I also lay out four major reasons for concern: (a) I doubt that HOPE VI could even be enacted today, given the evisceration of centrist coalitions in Congress; (b) the focus on process over outcomes at the community level has become a barrier to transformative interventions; (c) economic integration has lost its hold on policymakers and practitioners; and (d) HOPE VI developments, the impetus for these findings, are physically deteriorating without a clear mechanism for sustained operations. I end with a call for "people and places" to be put back at the center of housing and neighborhood policy and undergird the current focus on expanding housing supply (which is necessary but not sufficient). A focus on using housing policy to create "neighborhoods of choice and connection" must again become part of our national vision. National Housing Crisis Task Force Henry Cisneros Colin Higgins Michael Saadine Joshua Humphries https://lnkd.in/eUwaWnvq

$125,000. 350 square feet. Your own little plot of Texas. Lennar is building homes that sell for less than a new car. Not subsidized. Not a gimmick. A real product, at scale, from the second-largest homebuilder in the country. This is what housing innovation looks like when a major developer decides to actually solve the affordability problem instead of waiting for it to fix itself. The Elm Trails development near Converse, TX is 100 homes: two models, 350 to 660 square feet, one bedroom, full kitchen. Priced between $160,000 and $170,000. The nearby Southton Meadows version starts at $125,000 and is nearly sold out. By comparison, the median new single-family home in San Antonio runs $334,000. A new condo goes for $445,000. Lennar cut that in half by rethinking the product from scratch not by subsidizing it, not by cutting corners, but by shrinking the footprint and making the math work on smaller lots. They've been quietly working on this model for two years. San Antonio is the first city where they've deployed it. They're also 3D-printing homes in Austin with ICON. They're building a wastewater plant to unlock a 2,900-home development on former ranch land. This isn't a company dabbling in innovation. It's a company using its scale to attack the problem from multiple angles at once. The buyers at Elm Trails are mostly first-time owners: singles, couples, young families. People who thought homeownership wasn't an option. So the real question: is this the future of entry-level housing? Or does a 350-square-foot home fundamentally change what it means to own a home?

Bringing Back the Starter Home: Small, Smart, and Within Reach In the 1950s, the average new home in America was just 983 sq ft, built to house around 3.4 people.....about 290 sq ft per person. These starter homes weren’t tiny, they were efficient, intentional, and attainable. Today’s new homes average 2,392–2,540 sq ft for households of just 2.6 people, which works out to nearly 920 sq ft per person . That’s more than triple the space per individual. But living rooms hardly get used beyond "family room mode". Meanwhile, first-time buyers face an affordability squeeze that forces them into far larger homes than they need. What Changed? -Builder incentives Adding square footage is a cheap way to boost perceived value and margin. More space equals more profit. -Zoning and minimum size laws Many local codes now enforce minimum lot and building sizes that exclude smaller homes by default. -Buyer preference (and lifestyle marketing) Buyers now expect offices, gym rooms, home theaters. Right or not, these expectations drive bigger builds. Why Starter Homes Still Matter *Equity and accessibility Small, affordable homes are often the only entry point for first-time buyers and working families. *Land & resource efficiency Smaller homes use less land, energy, and materials while still meeting essential needs. *Resilience through diversity Communities built with a mix of homes large and small are stronger, more integrated, and adaptable. How Do We Bring Them Back? -Redefine minimums Allow homes under 1,000 sq ft by updating zoning codes or offering carve-outs for "starter units." -Innovate through design Use modular, prefab, ADUs, cottage clusters, and urban infill to deliver quality homes on smaller footprints. -Make it local Support small and local developers who can build sensitively and with creativity, often at smaller scale. -Shift the narrative Promote a cultural shift that celebrates quality over quantity, coziness, connection, sustainability. A Vision for the Future Imagine neighborhoods deliberately designed for a full spectrum of household types: *Compact studios for singles or students *Efficient 800–1,000 sq ft homes for starters *Modest family homes with yards and flex space *Multi-unit clusters that blend in with context All woven together. Integrated. Complete. This is how we build inclusively. How we build affordably. And how we build sustainably. The Call Bringing back starter homes is not nostalgia-it’s necessity. We have the design tools, the technology, and the market conditions to do this now. We just need to align policy, builders, and culture around it. Let’s make homes that are smart, just-sized, and within reach. #TheEmergingDeveloper #AffordableHousing #UrbanDesign #CommunityDesign #WalkableNeighborhoods #HousingOptions #BringBackTheStarterHome #InfillDevelopment

Costco is quietly redefining what housing at scale can look like. In Los Angeles, Costco is building an 800 unit apartment community directly on top of a new 185,000 sq ft Costco warehouse in Baldwin Village, a neighborhood where poverty rates are roughly 25% higher than the national average. This is the first project in the US to vertically stack hundreds of apartments above a full scale big-box retail store. Key facts: • 800 rental apartments above Costco on a five acre infill site • 184 units reserved for low income households • Remaining units designed as workforce & affordable housing, including Section 8 • Rooftop amenities, courtyards & family oriented design • Hundreds of new local jobs created The project is a partnership with Thrive Living and is moving forward under California’s AB 2011, which fast tracks housing heavy, mixed use developments. Why this matters: Retail lease revenue helps subsidize housing costs, reducing reliance on slow public funding. Modular construction accelerates delivery. Vertical density maximizes scarce urban land while limiting sprawl & car dependency. Costco isn’t just selling groceries, it’s testing a scalable model at the intersection of retail, housing & impact. The real question is no longer whether this works, it’s how fast it can be replicated. #HousingInnovation #AffordableHousing #UrbanPlanning #MixedUseDevelopment #RealEstateInnovation

Innovative ideas for living spaces today are transforming the way we interact with our homes by blending design ingenuity with cutting-edge technology. Architects and interior designers are increasingly incorporating multifunctional furniture and modular layouts to optimize space in compact urban homes—think beds that fold into walls, coffee tables that convert into desks, or entire rooms that can be reconfigured using movable partitions. Smart home systems are becoming the backbone of modern living spaces, enabling residents to control lighting, temperature, security, and even appliances through voice commands or mobile apps. Sustainable materials like bamboo, recycled plastic, and reclaimed wood are being used not just for aesthetic appeal, but to reduce environmental impact. Biophilic design is gaining momentum, integrating natural elements such as vertical gardens, indoor water features, and large windows to enhance mental well-being. In luxury and futuristic homes, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are being used to preview interior changes before implementation, while 3D printing is beginning to revolutionize how entire houses are built, offering affordable and customizable structures. The integration of solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and AI-driven energy efficiency tools demonstrates how smart #technology can align with eco-conscious living. Altogether, these innovative approaches are not only redefining comfort and style but also pushing the boundaries of what living spaces can achieve in terms of adaptability, sustainability, and user-centric functionality. Feel free to share your thoughts 💭

Singapore is pushing the boundaries of urban housing with its innovative modular apartment system — homes that can be reconfigured like Lego bricks. Designed for flexibility, each apartment is composed of prefabricated units that can be added, removed, or rearranged as families grow or shrink. Whether it’s a new child, an aging parent moving in, or someone moving out, the space can be reshaped accordingly without demolishing walls or relocating. This modular approach isn’t just about convenience; it reflects a deeper shift toward sustainable urban living. Since the units are built off-site and clipped together on location, construction is faster, less wasteful, and causes minimal disruption to surrounding neighborhoods. It also dramatically reduces carbon emissions linked to traditional building methods. Maintenance becomes easier too, as individual segments can be swapped or upgraded without affecting the entire building. These dynamic homes are especially suited for Singapore’s space-conscious cityscape. They maximize land efficiency, provide long-term adaptability for residents, and could serve as a model for housing developments in dense cities worldwide. As urban populations continue to rise and family needs change, this reconfigurable housing solution shows how cities can stay agile, inclusive, and future-ready.

I've spent nearly five decades in community development finance, and for most of that time the answer to "why don't we build more two-to-four-unit housing?" was some version of: the money isn't there. That answer is no longer quite true — and that's worth paying attention to. My new white paper traces how the missing middle became financeable. The short version: between 2023 and 2026, FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac each began counting ADU rental income toward qualifying and requiring appraisers to value it. Meanwhile 18 states legalized ADUs, taking the zoning risk out of the deal. The capital that wasn't there is starting to be. It isn't finished. We still can't easily finance new units on projected rent, reach four-unit or cooperative structures, or get past the commercial-appraisal lid. But for the first time in my career, those are a defined punch list — not a general void. Full paper, with recommendations for lenders, policymakers, and the secondary market, linked below. #HousingFinance #MissingMiddle #ADU #AffordableHousing

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act just became law - and it's the biggest federal housing reform package in over 20 years. Here's what it means (and doesn't mean) for community development, affordable housing developers, and wealth-building in low-income communities: MORE CAPITAL FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Banks can now put up to 20% of capital (up from 15%) into public welfare investments - affordable housing and community development projects. That's real new capacity for CDFIs and community lenders to deploy. EASIER PATH FOR DEVELOPERS 📌CDBG funds can now be used directly to build new affordable housing, not just rehabiliation 📌 Environmental review (NEPA) is streamlined for federally supported housing projects, with more review authority pushed down to states, localities, and tribes 📌 A new pilot program funds converting vacant commercial/industrial buildings into affordable housing, prioritized for economically distressed areas and Opportunity Zones WEALTH-BUILDING PROTECTIONS 📌 Large institutional investors that own 350+ single-family homes are now restricted from buying more - a direct move to protect entry-level homeownership from corporate buyers 📌 A new Whole-Home Repairs pilot offers grants and forgivable loans so existing low-income homeowners can maintain and preserve the equity they already have 📌 Housing Choice Voucher inspections are streamlined for LIHTC, HOME, and USDA-financed units - reducing friction that's kept landlords from accepting vouchers THE CAVEAT No new funding is authorized in this bill. It's structural and regulatory reform, not a spending package. That matters most for RESIDE and Whole-Home Repairs specifically: 📌 RESIDE can only draw up to $100M/year, and only from HOME appropriations above $1.35B. HOME has been funded at $1.25B the last two years - so RESIDE has no money to work with unless Congress raises HOME funding significantly. 📌Whole-Home Repairs has zero dedicated funding source - it depends entirely on Congress appropriating money for it in future budget cycles. So the real test is implementation: whether HUD, states, and localities actually get the appropriations to execute over the next few years. This is a genuinely bipartisan bill - led by Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Elizabeth Warren - and it reflects years of advocacy from the affordable housing and community development field. Curious to hear how others in this space are thinking about the RESIDE Act and the CDBG changes, in particular. #AffordableHousing #CommunityDevelopment #HousingPolicy #WealthBuilding #Homeownership

Day 6 of 13 holidaying in Nafplio: : Problems created by ‘golden visas’ and short-term lets: Lessons from Portugal Portugal's housing market experienced a severe crisis due to government incentives, deregulation, and foreign investment. This is very similar to what has happened and is currently happening in Greece and Cyprus. Factors contributing to the crisis included: - Liberalization of the rental market, removal of rent controls, and lifetime tenancies led to skyrocketing rental prices, making housing unaffordable for many locals. - The introduction of "golden visas" and non-habitual residency schemes attracted foreign investment but contributed to rising property prices and reduced housing availability for locals. - Short-term rentals, driven by platforms like Airbnb, further strained housing supply, exacerbating the crisis. - The arrival of digital nomads, benefiting from a favorable tax rate, added to the pressure on the housing market. Greece and Cyprus should carefully review government incentives and foreign investment plans to avoid issues that could lead to inflated housing costs for locals. For example: - Investment money should go not only into housing, but also into projects like building schools and hospitals, as Ireland has done. - Investments should come with conditions, like making the property more energy efficient or choosing properties in specific areas needing development. Regulatory Measures: - Rent controls and lifetime tenancies can protect locals from big rent increases and make housing stable. - However, these are temporary measures. The best way to provide affordable housing is to make sure there is enough for everyone and not let short-term tourist rentals compete with locals, especially in crowded areas where lower-income groups live. - We should develop affordable housing programs and use empty city-center properties. Here are some examples beyond Portugal: o  Convert Empty Buildings: Cities like Detroit, USA have turned unused buildings into affordable homes. o  Vacancy Taxes: Cities like Vancouver, Canada tax empty properties, using the money for affordable housing. o  Cooperative Housing: In places like Zurich, Switzerland, empty buildings are turned into community-owned housing. o  Social Housing: Cities like Vienna, Austria buy, renovate, and rent out empty city-center properties at affordable rates. o  Rent-to-Own Schemes: Some places let government-owned property tenants gradually buy their home, like in the UK's council housing programs. By adopting these strategies, Greece and Cyprus could make housing more affordable, improve city areas, and promote diversity. Real estate data analytics companies like Ask Wire can play a vital role in providing transparent and up-to-date data on property prices, rental trends, and housing supply to inform policy and decision-making. #RealEstate #DataAnalytics #HousingCrisis #SustainableGrowth #AffordableHousing #Greece #Cyprus #Portugal