Making affordable homeownership work in Albany, NY
We are excited to present, in collaboration with other housing and justice organizations, an affordable housing platform, which provides real solutions to address the legacies of redlining and other historic injustices in the Albany’s neighborhoods.
The homeownership gap between Black and white households in Albany, NY is among the highest in the country, with a nearly 70% homeownership rate among white households and just a 20% homeownership rate among Black households.
Residents of Albany’s historically redlined neighborhoods have endured generations of challenges, including predatory lending and underwater mortgages; blight and abandoned properties; aging housing stock and homes with lead, asbestos and mold; high rates of unemployment and population loss.
We do not have enough safe, quality, affordable homes for people to buy. A complicating reality is that in Albany’s historically redlined neighborhoods, there is a significant development gap between what it costs to rehabilitate or build a home and what that home will appraise for once completed. This gap means that entire neighborhoods continue to be excluded from stability and revitalization. The development/appraisal gap is modern-day redlining.
The platform outlines key barriers to affordable, equitable homeownership within the City of Albany and our proposals for overcoming these obstacles.
Proposal #1: Establish a local affordable homeownership fund
Proposal #2: Implement a blight action plan
Proposal #3: Streamline development approval and permits
Proposal #4: Expand homebuyer education and post-purchase support
Proposal #5: Expand credit counseling and alternative credit solutions
Proposal #6: Expand financial resources to address rent delinquency
Proposal #7: Preserve existing homeownership opportunities
Signed by:
Affordable Housing Partnership
Albany County Land Bank,
Albany Community Land Trust
Arbor Hill Development Corporation
Capital Area Council of Churches
Center for Law and Justice
Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations
Habitat for Humanity Capital District
Housing for All
The Justice Center at Albany Law School Community Economic Development Clinic
New York State Council of Churches
South End Community Collaborative
South End Improvement Corporation
Trinity Alliance
United Tenants of Albany