A non-profit organization in Dallas has finished construction on the first of three hundred affordable homes they plan to build over the next five years.
Builders of Hope, a faith-based organization, is one of only two non-profit builders still operating in Dallas, a city where typical commercial home builders can make a substantial profit from selling their houses, according to NBC 5 News.
After breaking ground on the project on September 23, 2021, the first home, located in the South Dallas Mill City neighborhood, is ready. The nonprofit partnered with banks and private foundations to build the new homes on vacant lots in the area over a five-year period.
Ann Harrington, the organization’s representative, works with new buyers. According to her, Builders of Hope has more than three hundred people on the waiting list, with more people calling every day to get added to the list of potential buyers.
The new homes will have a price point around $200,000, a price the nonprofit has deems reasonable given the current situation of the real estate market in the city.
Building Hope’s leader, Pastor James Armstrong III, explained that the appraised value of the homes would be $25,000 to $30,000 more than the selling price; that way, he said, the money saved on the initial purchase becomes “real wealth for the homeowner that will one day call this place home.”
“We create economic mobility for families, Armstrong told NBC 5 News. “A family will walk into this house on day one with instant equity that hopefully they can pass on to their children. And that’s what we call generational wealth. And we know that generational wealth is dismal for people of color.”
Those interested in buying the homes must have jobs with limited income and must be able to pay a mortgage.
City of Dallas Housing Director David Noguera said owning a home is one of the key ways of building wealth. He added that Pastor James is “setting the example” and the city hopes to help other nonprofits do what the pastor is doing.