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Housing Trust Fund Reports $1.6 Billion Committed to Address the Country's Housing Needs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, Apr 15, 2007New Housing Trust Fund Progress Report Shows $1.6 billion in Annual Commitments to Address Country's Critical Housing Needs
(Washington, DC) Three decades after the
Housing Trust Fund movement began, a new report released by the Center
for Community Change shows nearly 600 housing trust funds in states,
counties and cities across the country contribute a total of $1.6
billion each year to address affordable housing. The number of housing
trust funds has tripled in the last four years and since the last
progress report on Housing Trust Funds in the United States.
“ The phenomenal growth in these funds underscores the integral role they play in the world of affordable housing, &8221 says Mary Brooks, project director, Housing Trust Funds, Center for Community Change. “ “This report shows that housing trust funds have established themselves as a sustainable and significant model. They are making a measurable contribution to efforts to redress America’s approach to ensure a fundamental right to good housing for everyone. ”
The report shows the breakdown of housing trust funds by state, county and city. Thirty-eight states have created forty-nine housing trust funds including the District of Columbia. There are 55 city housing trust funds in 24 states with another 120 jurisdictions in Massachusetts, seven cities in Iowa and 250 communities in New Jersey, making city housing trust funds account for 432 of the 600 total funds.
The vast majority of revenue comes from dedicated sources of public funds. Some sources of funding include developer fees, property taxes and hotel taxes. The most common revenue source for state funds is the real estate transfer tax or the documentary stamp tax, used by eleven states. The document recording fee is also a popular source for funds and is collected by seven states. Two states, Florida and New Jersey, have the largest state revenue stream at more than $100 million.
The report also highlights trends within housing trust fund projects. One of the most rapidly growing trends is creating legislation that encourages or enables cities and counties to create their own housing trust funds. Five states have passed legislation that encourage or enable local jurisdictions to dedicate public funds to affordable housing including Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington.
“ With nearly three decades of history, housing trust funds have withstood the test of time, ” says Brooks. “ The future of affordable housing in this country depends on it. ”
To obtain a copy of the report, contact Germonique Jones at gjones@www.communitychange.org
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