Home ownership is a dream of countless Americans, but for so many, the dream is out of reach.
According to the National Association of Realtors, “While the U.S. homeownership rate increased to 65.5% in 2021, the rate among Black Americans lags significantly (44%) and has only increased 0.4% in the last 10 years and is nearly 29 percentage points less than White Americans (72.7%), representing the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade.” The Asian homeownership rate (63%) and Hispanic rate (51.1%) also show wide gaps and further demonstrate that communities of color are more cost-burdened than any other racial group.

A March 2024 report from the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) noted, “The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2024 was $400,500. The average sales price was $485,000.”

This cost is out of reach for the average worker, especially when in the Chicago area, the average median income is $65,781 according to the U.S. Census.

One way to combat rising home prices and allow those who dream of homeownership to fulfill their dream is through a Community Land Trust (CLT).

In communities across the country, urban and rural, people are breaking away from the traditional home buying model by creating CLTs.

A CLT is created by a nonprofit or government entity that owns, develops and is custodian of the land and assets for the benefit of the community long-term. Having homes in a CLT will ensure that there will be affordable homes for residents in that area for years to come and not get priced out of a community they love. A purchaser of property owned by a CLT agrees to purchase the structure while leasing the land from the land trust.

Homeowners can build equity on their property and pay lower property taxes, but still agree to sell the house at an affordable price in the future.

The benefits of CLTs for homeowners include reducing the purchase price for qualified buyers, preserving permanent affordability for future buyers, offering tax benefits to homeowners, and protecting neighborhood diversity.

CLTs have been created for other community benefits besides homeownership such as community gardens, wildlife, agriculture, businesses and more.

The first CLT in the U.S. was New Communities, established in 1969 in support of Black farmers. This was a collaboration between farmers and civil rights activists such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Georgia.

CCLF’s foray into community land trusts started in 2015 while working with affordable housing community leaders to create community land trusts in the neighborhoods of Chicago Lawn and Woodlawn. In 2021, the Chicagoland Owners Land Trust (COLT) Federation was formed with nine-partner organizations led by Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF). The COLT Federation is a consortium of several land trusts across Chicagoland working together to share resources and strategies to advance CLTs as an affordable solution to homeownership.

Here to Stay (HTS), one of the COLT Federation partners, has CLT properties in the Chicago neighborhoods of Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale and Hermosa. On the Northwest Side where HTS operates, the average home sells for over $1million. HTS sold its first property in 2022 for $275,000, after being appraised for $435,000. Because of the CLT structure, a new home buyer was able to purchase the property in an otherwise unaffordable neighborhood. This is the beauty of CLT.

Recently, a ribbon cutting was held at a renovated home in the Logan Square neighborhood that was donated to HTS. The previous owners were community activists and fought throughout the years to keep home purchasing affordable.