In Austin, a home at 5020 W. Erie St. sold for $36,000 in 2013, but a decade later, was put on the market for $385,000. One at 605 N. Laramie Ave. sold for $99,900 in 2022 and was priced at $310,000 just one year later. And a house at 5445 W. Augusta Blvd. that sold for $190,000 in 2010 sold last year for $475,000.
“These price increases are making it difficult for longtime Austin residents to buy homes in their own community,” said La’Shawna Bundy, Austin Coming Together’s community land trust coordinator, at an informational meeting Feb. 25. “Household incomes in Austin have not kept pace with rising housing values.”
The nonprofit Austin Coming Together held two information sessions in February, and will put on one March 1, for those interested in learning more about planning and developing a community land trust in Austin. Though the community land trust doesn’t exist yet, locals are working toward it in order to keep housing prices stable and prevent displacement on the West Side.
A land trust separates land ownership from homeownership, providing more affordable housing options that allow Austin residents to remain locals in their own neighborhood.
When a house is up for sale, a community land trust can buy it with funds from subsidies and grants. Then, the trust resells it to a resident at a fraction of the cost. The resident also leases the land from the community land trust through a 99-year renewable lease, usually for less than $100 a month.
Community land trusts “provide affordable home ownership by keeping housing prices 25-to-30% below value,” Bundy said. “Homeowners can make improvements, they can stay as long as they want, they can pass down their homes.”
In addition to building generational wealth by buying lots with residences on them or buying lots and building on them, community land trusts can also make it more affordable for residents who already own their homes.
“Part of the land trust is giving the opportunity for our residents to stay placed where they are at and not be priced out, making it more affordable for them to stay in their homes,” Bundy said. As the community land trust develops, there would likely be the option for the trust to buy the property of homeowners who are on the brink of foreclosure, then sell the house back to them.
The hypothetical Austin community land trust started out of ACT’s quality-of-Life plan Austin Forward. Together, which focuses on improving key areas including housing, education, community narrative and economic development in Austin.
But community land trusts aren’t a new idea. The modern concept is thought to have started in Georgia to help Black farmers secure land during the Civil Rights Movement, and has since spread across the country.
In Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, the Casas del Pueblo community land trust launched after the 2007 housing crisis. And in 2019, a group of nonprofit housing organizations created the Here To Stay Community Land Trust, which covers Avondale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park and Logan Square.
The next step in creating a community land trust in Austin would be forming a board that makes decisions for the trust (though there would be a fiscal agent overseeing the land trust). The board would be tripartite – made up of one-third stakeholders like nonprofit leaders and government officials, one-third community members, and one-third homeowners.
ACT is working to secure funds to launch a community land trust from philanthropic foundations, private institutions, plus state and federal programs.
Come spring, ACT plans to organize more community engagement events. The group hopes to develop an action plan for a community land trust this year, including getting together a working group and developing a strategic plan. ACT aims for the community land trust to go live next year.
Those who are interested in learning more about the Austin community land trust or being a part of the process of creating it should fill out the following survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwTOdjfBJunUryAb1J9UG3cgjIdT-zG8r5hq7TZYkpa2k_5Q/viewform
The next informational meeting about the Austin community land trust will take place in-person March 1 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Austin Coming Together, 5049 W. Harrison St.
