Raising awareness about the link between good schools and good communities – and how to strengthen both – was the focus of a day-long forum called “Connecting the Dots Between Where Kids Live and Where They Learn." The 29,500-member Virginia Association of REALTORS® used a Housing Opportunity Grant to co-sponsor…...
Santa Fe REALTORS® Produce Affordable Housing Guide as Resource for Policymakers, Housing Providers & Public
The 690-member Santa Fe Association of REALTORS® (SFAR) wanted to help the city and housing providers make wise decisions about affordable housing in their area, where pricey second homes are the norm and many workers commute from surrounding areas. Using a $5,000 Housing Opportunity Grant, SFAR produced the 2013 Affordable…...
Two Chicago-Area REALTOR® Associations Host Housing Expo and Trolley Tour with Housing Opportunity Grant
The City of Aurora, on the west side of Chicago, has been lauded as a highly livable city. It has a strong down-payment assistance program, and plenty of affordable housing -- yet a high percentage of the employees working in Aurora commute from elsewhere. The 15,000-member Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®…...
Ada County (ID) Association Makes Strides in Employer-Assisted Housing
No one ever said it would be quick or easy. But the Ada County Association of REALTORS® (ACAR) stuck to its conviction that focusing on workforce housing is good for everyone in a community. The 3,000-member association is finally beginning to see results from its years of diligent Employer Assisted…...
Gaston (NC) REALTORS®: Small Association Thinks Big in Putting Housing Opportunity Grant to Work
When the economy crashed in Gaston County, NC, it crashed hard. Unemployment grew and the housing market suffered. As conditions began to improve last year, the 270-member Gaston County Association of REALTORS® decided to help the public understand the opportunities to be had in their recovering market by hosting a…...
Georgia’s West Metro Board Uses HOP Grant to Showcase Ongoing Neighborhood Stabilization Work
For years, the 230-member West Metro Board of REALTORS® (WMBoR) has helped support the Neighborhood Stabilization Program administered by the City of Carrollton Housing Authority. By rehabbing abandoned homes and selling them with down payment assistance to qualified buyers, the program has been a real success in preventing and reversing…...
Nashville REALTORS® Gather Coalition for Ground-Breaking Housing Summit
Where there are homes in safe areas with access to good education, good transit and other services, that’s where the jobs go. It was this kind of big thinking that led the 2,800-member Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® (GNAR) to gather a coalition of regional partners in the housing industry…...
Denver Metro Association Grows Employer-Assisted Housing Idea from Grant to Class to Program
The 4,500-member Denver Metro Association of REALTORS® (DMAR) realized that Employer-Assisted Housing was a topic that would serve both the membership and the community, so they applied for and received a $5,000 grant from NAR to fund a course in October 2010. Then, they took it to the next step…...