$212,000 can still buy a new home in Boise housing market, if you don’t earn too much
During the past year, eight low-income families have claimed affordable rental homes in northwest Boise owned by Leap Housing Solutions.
On Wednesday, the Boise-based nonprofit announced a new 14-home project that will allow other low-income families to become homeowners at below-market rates.
Caritas Commons, at 10000 W. Shields Ave., will feature four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes with 960 square feet each. They will be crafted from recycled shipping containers, like the rental units across the street at Leap’s Windy Court I and II.
Families earning less than 80% of the area median income will be eligible for the homes. A family of four would qualify if it makes less than $59,850.
Work on the first four homes will begin in August, with the finished residences scheduled for move-in in early 2021. Four additional homes are scheduled to be available each quarter after that.
Each house, built by Boise-based IndieDwell, will sell for $212,000, about $80,000 less than the cost to build.
Forty thousand dollars provided by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association will cover half of that $80,000. Leap is raising the other $40,000.
“Ultimately our goal is for the sales price to be $80,000 less than the amount spent to build the homes in order to pass the savings to the home buyer,” Leap spokesperson Zeb Moers said in an email.
Homeowners will be required to contribute down payments as required by their lenders.
The homes will sell for 57% of June’s record-breaking median home sales price in Ada County of $375,000.
A trust has been established to ensure the homes continue to sell at affordable rates in the future. The trust will own the land under the houses. Homeowners must agree to limit the amount of equity they have when they sell the homes.
“Just imagine how many families will stay in these 14 homes during the decades to come and the ripple effect these homes will have on the stability of their housing and their health,” Leap Housing founder and CEO Bart Cochran said during a virtual meeting announcing the project.
The land trust was created through a partnership between Leap and the Saint Alphonsus Health System. It’s the first land trust for affordable housing in the Treasure Valley.
“We believe that affordable housing is health care,” Saint Als’ CEO Odette Bolano said. “Our mission is to serve together in the spirit of the hospital as a compassionate and transforming healing presence in our communities.”
Saint Alphonsus donated $240,000 for the project: $100,000 from the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center Foundation; $90,000 from the health system’s community health and well-being budget; and $50,000 from parent Trinity Health, through a gift from Epic, which provides Saint Al’s electronic medical records system.
Dark Horse Associates, a Boise land development company founded by Wendy Klahr, sold the land to Leap Housing Solutions for an undisclosed amount that Klahr said was less than it would have brought on the open market.
Klahr, who is also a real estate agent, said she’s had a front-row seat as home prices in the Boise area have soared over the past few years. She said she wanted to do her part to help stem “the tide of the growing crisis in affordable housing throughout the Treasure Valley.”
She said a colleague chastised her for “leaving thousands of dollars on the table” by selling the land at a discount to Leap.
“I felt great doing it, because I created a positive impact in the community,” Klahr said. “Business is not just about providing a good living for my family, it’s about setting an example for my children and investing in a community that is dear to me.”
Leap Housing’s “Yes You Can” program is scheduling appointments for families interested in buying homes at Caritas Commons. Applicants do not need to go through a real estate agent to apply.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, who said affordable housing is one of her top priorities, praised the Caritas Commons project.
“It’s incredibly important,” McLean said. “It will have real-life impacts on many of our residents and that it’s forever affordable is so important.”
The donations from Saint Al’s helped to buy the land for six of the homes and to place that property into trust.
New West Community Capital, a Boise nonprofit, issued a loan to pay construction costs. It provides funding for affordable housing and community economic development projects.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 5:58 PM.
