Newsletters

In last week’s newsletter, we shared an article from Time Magazine called, “A Look at Community Land Trusts and How They Combat the Affordable Housing Crisis.” In case you didn’t see it in the recommended reading section of the newsletter, I wanted to bring it to your attention because it’s such a helpful explanation of the community land trust (CLT) model and the work we do at Community Home Trust.

I was especially struck by this part, which describes the shared equity aspect of the CLT model: “It doesn’t mean that your home can’t be a source of wealth building, but it means it’s not a stock,” King-Ries says. “It’s not an investment for somebody from another part of the country or another part of the world.” 

After five years at Community Home Trust, I have come to believe that is the most important distinguishing characteristic of the land trust model: a reframing of how we think about homeownership. In the United States, our real estate market is focused on the concept of ownership as investment. But I think that sometimes we pay so much attention to the ROI of our homes that we lose sight of their primary purpose: a safe, stable, secure place to live. The shared equity model that is the basis of CLT homeownership prioritizes a place to live, not an investment.

Shared equity is a generational wealth building strategy and CLT homeowners do save money on their housing costs and earn equity in their homes. The homes can also be passed along to heirs. In our program, most homeowners earn about 1% equity per year of ownership, plus most report that their mortgage payments are less than their past rent payments. But those figures leave out the other really important factors that are harder to measure, like stability and security. We measured some of those things in our 2021 impact study. For example, more than 90% of our respondents reported feeling safer in their CHT homes than they did in their previous living circumstances; respondents also reported having better saving habits and an increased ability to pay their bills on time.

If you’re interested in learning more about how land trusts impact our communities, there are a few opportunities coming up in the near future at Community Home Trust:

• Join us next week for the premiere of our new impact film, “Land, Trust, and Resilience: The Road to Staying Home.” This film tells the story of the five newest homes in our inventory, naturally occurring affordable homes (NOAH) in Durham that were at risk of being lost. They’re now refurbished and a permanent part of our land trust, which means they’ll be affordable forever. Details about how to reserve your free tickets are here.

• Keep your eyes out for the release of our upcoming whitepaper, entitled “Shared Equity, Lasting Impact: Strategies for Affordable and Sustainable Housing.” Hard copies will be available at the film premiere, and we’ll release a digital version available as a download soon. This is a deep dive into the land trust model and the unique impact it has on our community.

Thanks for being part of our community, and I hope to see you at the Carolina Theatre next week.

Kimberly Sanchez, Executive Director