• Habitat Virginia's green building program has ripple effect on the community
• Ride Virginia Poker Run Raffle Winner
• Pictures from Ride Virginia 2008 are up in the photos section.
• Housing Trust Fund Information
• Jonathan Reckford in Richmond
• Pre-Framed House Testimonial
• Home Builders Blitz 2008

Housing Trust Fund Information

Due to the rising cost of living in Virginia, there’s even more at stake for Virginians than their quality of life. The commonwealth’s economic health could also suffer. A majority of Virginians surveyed agreed that the cost of living in Virginia is rising faster than incomes, and that the cost of housing has the greatest impact on the cost of living.
Many middle-class Virginians can no longer afford to live near where they work; thus, the rising costs of housing and living have reached a crisis level. As Virginians must move farther away from the workplace to find housing they can afford, the resulting commuting time and associated costs, traffic congestion, pollution and wear and tear on roads increase—all of which has contributed to a growing transportation crisis in addition to the housing crisis.

The good news is that the Virginia Housing Coalition (VHC) is proposing a real solution to this problem—the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. The Virginia Housing Trust Fund would offer broad-reaching and flexible solutions to the high cost of housing. HFHVA Executive Director Sylvia Hallock holds a seat on the board and is on the legislative committee of VHC. In addition, Virginia Habitat affiliates are actively involved in communicating with the legislature to support passage of the Trust Fund.
The lack of affordable options for housing has also become a national crisis; in fact, 38 states—including Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia—have established their own housing trust funds to alleviate the rising cost of housing. Because an existing, dedicated stream of state revenue would support the proposed Virginia Housing Trust Fund, no tax increases would be necessary. This is the most important feature of the Trust Fund and critical to its passage in the Senate. The VHC is flexible on the source of funding but committed to the concept of a dedicated source.

In addition to promoting home ownership, the Trust Fund would also support the development of affordable rental options. The Trust Fund would stimulate transit-oriented housing to reduce traffic congestion and provide low-interest loans, matching funds for local programs and incentives for developers to create reasonably priced housing and mixed-income communities. Many Virginians would benefit, including the middle class, first-time homebuyers, struggling single parents, seniors, people with disabilities and those at risk of becoming homeless.

For more detailed information on the Housing Trust Fund, more about the source of dedicated funding, and how you can help, visit the VHC website at www.vahousingcoalition.org and click on the Virginia Housing Trust Fund Fact Sheet link.