Community Land Trust

The Community Land Trust (the Trust) is a new program to be launched in 2006. The Trust will have its own 501(c)3 status and operate as a support organization of PeopleFund.

The Trust will create permanent affordable housing in Austin and allow working families an opportunity to purchase a safe and stable home. Homeownership builds financial security for low-income families and can positively influence the community by reducing crime, improving children’s lifestyles and increasing resident participation in civic affairs.

Why create a Community Land Trust?

Moderate and low-income families in Central Texas have faced a housing crisis for almost a decade. More than 40% of Austin families cannot afford a median priced home.

The City of Austin concluded that for low-income households it was “virtually impossible to purchase a home in 1999,” when Austin’s median home price was only $126,500. Yet, the median home value in Austin continues to rise. The homeownership rate for Austin is only 48% as opposed to 64% for Texas and 69% nationwide. Rates for African Americans and Hispanics are below 37%.

At the same time, in East Austin, property values in many neighborhoods are appreciating more quickly than in other parts of our region – up to 200% in the last eight years in some central East Austin neighborhoods.

What Will the Community Land Trust Do?

The Community Land Trust

  • Offers permanent affordable housing, while retaining the subsidies and grants used to develop the housing.
  • Permanently removes the cost of land from the home purchase price to keep the home affordable over the long term
  • Allows East Austin residents to own homes in the neighborhoods where they grew up and not force them to outlying areas
  • Provides families who currently can’t afford homes the opportunity to earn equity and move towards full home ownership.

The Community Land Trust serves families with household incomes ranging between 40% and 80% of median family income, $28,450 to $56,900 in annual income for a family of four. Approximately 50,000 households in Austin fall within this income bracket. Roughly half of these families live in unsafe or dilapidated housing or have rental costs that aren’t affordable, forcing them to choose between buying groceries and paying for a roof over their head. These families are currently underserved by the housing market.

The goal is to have the first homes in the Trust available in summer 2007.