Housing
 

Affordable Housing 

Housing is where LISC started. A safe, affordable home is one of the basic requisites of life—a key to individual health and well-being, and the foundation for sustainable, eco­nomically vibrant and diverse neighborhoods. As our vision has expanded to include catalyzing opportunity for people and places in many ways: through education, good jobs, health, safety and economic development, LISC continues to center the availability of quality, affordable housing.

LISC is the only organization in the Houston region that addresses the whole spectrum of affordable housing ranging from trainings, housing development, preservation, access to homeownership and rehab from disasters. We provide grants, loans and equity for nearly every aspect of development, from planning and acquisition to construction and renovation.

State of Houston

  • Median home sales prices in Houston increased by 87.7% from 2011 to 2021
  • Harris County needs to build 150,000 more affordable units as the population is projected to grow over the next 10 years, with almost 200,000 new households who will earn less than 120% MHI
  • The cumulative effects of repeated natural and public-health disasters have disproportionately affected residents in 13 ZIP codes in Harris County 
  • The next disaster will disproportionately affect lower-income communities, and a total of 474,000 rental units (65%) are located in census tracts that have high risks for disasters. 

Our Work

Own The HOU: Launched in 2022, LISC Houston is convening the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative to implement a set of strategies to help address systemic barriers and expand homeownership opportunities for individuals and families who have traditionally faced tremendous barriers. Part of a $60 million national effort, spurred by Wells Fargo, Houston is one of eight markets across the U.S. to implement this initiative with goal of reaching 5,000 new homeowners of color in Harris County. Read More.

Real Estate Capacity Building: Since its inception LISC Houston has offered a wide range of technical assistance and capacity-building resources to local nonprofit developers to spur the preservation and development of affordable housing. Read More.

Black Women Developers Capacity Building Program: Launching in 2023, LISC is announcing a new Houston pilot program to address affordable housing as part of Project 10X, a nationwide, 10-year, $1 billion investment by LISC and its partners in eliminating racial wealth, health and opportunity gaps. Through Project 10x, LISC National launched the Innovation Challenge to pilot new and promising strategies that push toward racial equity and has awarded LISC Houston funding to develop a capacity building program for Black women developers with a focus on climate justice/green building.  Through this program, LISC Houston will lead economic development by enhancing the infrastructure and increasing Black women developers’ capacity to develop and preserve homes, including homes for new BIPOC homeowners.

Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH): LISC Houston is supporting the formation and management of a learning community focused on housing preservation. We convene the learning community every quarter to share best practices, learn from each other and engage experts about advancing preservation models in Houston, as well as provide resources to advance individual preservation efforts while discussing joint opportunities for engagement.