How is Affordable Housing Funded?

When Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley sets out to build affordable homes, we can't get to shovels in the ground without first doing the math. We look at all the costs — things like land acquisition, building materials, labor, and subcontractor services — and then, we know what funding we'll need to make the development feasible. Before we can move forward, we need to be confident that we can secure the funding to cover our costs.

It may seem like a simple math problem, but getting to that "magic number" is anything but easy. 

So, how do we get there?

Home Sales

Habitat homes are purchased by — not donated to — Habitat homeowners with limited incomes. Habitat homes are priced affordably so that their homeowners' housing costs do not exceed 30-35% of their monthly income,  and we factor those home sale prices into our funding mix. 

Community Gifts

Habitat depends on our community's generosity to help us build affordable homes. When we set out to build, we set a fundraising goal that is ambitious but, we believe, achievable. The community helps us reach that goal through donations, corporate partnerships, faith community engagements, and other ways. Once we have set that fundraising target, we also factor that number into our funding mix. 

Government Funding

After home sale prices and a fundraising goal are determined, we still have a ways to go before we have all the funding we'll need to cover the cost of building affordable homes. That "gap funding" must be secured before we can move forward. That's where government funding — and your advocacy — come in. 

Help us step up to the challenge.

As you can see, funding affordable housing is a lot tougher than just balancing an equation. It's a challenge we must tackle every time we build. Luckily, we have an incredible community behind us — giving, volunteering, advocating — so that we can rise to the occasion and keep putting house keys in the hands of new homeowners. Join us, and keep us building more.