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Texas

Houston Mayor expands post-Harvey affordable housing initiative

Mayor Sylvester Turner is bringing 480 homes to Willowbend and Sunnyside, half for families making 80 percent of Houston’s area median income

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (Getty Images, iStock)
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (Getty Images, iStock)

Houston will purchase 27 acres in the Willowbend and Sunnyside neighborhoods to expand an affordable housing program begun in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The plans consist of 480 single-family homes, half of which will be available to households making 80 percent of Houston’s area median income. Eligibility would also vary, based on household size. For example, a family of three earning $57,050 or less would currently qualify.

The rest would be sold at market rates. In the Willowbend area, which spans 12.2 acres off of Stella Link Road, the median home sales price is $319,000 in 2021, according to Houston Association of Realtors data. In Sunnyside, which encompasses 14.9 acres off of Cityscape Avenue, it is $210,000.

“Increasing the supply of affordable and sustainable housing in Houston is a top priority for my administration,” Turner said in an emailed statement to the Chronicle. The Mayor said he aims to construct 2,000 new single-family homes by the end of 2023.

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When Harvey hit Houston in 2017, it wiped out tens of thousands of homes and the Housing and Community Development Department launched its Large Tract Division, said Ray Miller, assistant director at the department.

The division buys land and deeds it over to a developer free of charge in exchange for the developer selling at least 51 percent of its homes at prices affordable to families earning 80 percent of Houston’s area median income. The affordable housing units range from single-family detached houses, townhomes, duplexes and condos.

The program’s premiere project, Towne Park, began with a $3.2 million investment for 161 homes near Greater Inwood, 121 of which will be affordable. Olivia Bush, the division’s interim manager, aims to build 202 homes on a 10.7-acre tract, which was bought with $15.8 million of Harvey-related disaster recovery funds.

Buyers who qualify for the affordable homes also receive up to $135,000 in downpayment assistance in the form of a no-interest, no-payment loan. Every year, 20 percent of the loan is forgiven, so that after five years, the loan effectively becomes a grant.

The best part? Homeowners are free to sell the home at market value after five years, which can help low income families cash in on South Texas’ historically hot market.

[Houston Chronicle] — Maddy Sperling

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Affordable Housing