Golden gift for PAHA

COEUR d’ALENE —  Maggie Lyons has high hopes for “Miracle on Britton,” and a donation from "Agents With Hearts of Gold" will go toward making it happen.

“This is a fantastic surprise,” said the executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance to about 50 Century 21 Beutler and Associates team members on Wednesday. “Thank you so much.”

Throughout the year, those in the Century 21 program voluntarily donate a designated amount, from $5 to $100, from each transaction that is tallied at year’s end and given to a nonprofit.

They have done this since 2017, contributing to organizations like Union Gospel Mission and ElderHelp of North Idaho.

This year, it added up to $10,000 for PAHA.

“We care about our community,” said Christine Matheny, Century 21 Beutler and Associates real estate agent. 

Lyons said while they have received pledges toward “Miracle on Britton,” an affordable housing project, this was the first cash donation.

She said PAHA purchased 4.65 acres on Britton Road, just south of Prairie Avenue and Greensferry Road.

The plan calls for 28 lots that will be developed as shared equity homes, with 14 as land trust homes and 14 as fee simple homes.

In a land trust, the buyer owns the structure and the land is held by a nonprofit. Lyons said that could allow the land trust homes to be sold for an entry point goal of $180,000. Fee simple means ownership of structure and land, with a starting price of about $400,000.

There would be income restrictions.

Lyons said many shared equity homes are purchased by first-time buyers who go on to buy market-rate homes. It helps blue-collar workers stay in their hometown amid rising housing costs.

“So really, this is the future demand for housing here,” she said.

Lyons said shared equity homes is a relatively new concept that is catching on nationwide because it allows a house to be “preserved in perpetuity for affordability.”

She said it sounds complicated, but it’s not.

“The private market can drive this as long as we have the cities working with us,” Lyons said.

If PAHA can underwrite the land through donors and work with builders willing to build close to cost, the hope is to break ground next spring.

Lyons said they will be nice homes in a beautiful neighborhood.

Such projects could ease Kootenai County's affordable housing crunch, where median single-family home prices climbed 139% to $565,000 from 2016 to 2023, and 80% of locals can’t afford to buy a place of their own.

Lyons said home ownership changes lives for the better.

“The upside is, wealth is created,” she said. “Most importantly, stability is provided.”

Matheny said affordable housing is important to their field and they want to support efforts to find solutions. Nearly 50 Century 21 Beutler and Associates team members were in the Agents With Hearts of Gold program. Ten more signed on after Wednesday's presentation.

“We get in the trenches and work hard,” Matheny said. “It shows who we are as a brokerage.”

She said when it came time to decide who would receive this year's donation from the Agents With Hearts of Gold, they considered six organizations but went with PAHA.

“Our heart strings were tied to that,” she said. 

    Century 21 Beutler and Associates with the "Agents With Hearts of Gold" program donate $10,000 to the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance on Wednesday. Kneeling are Kristen Johnson, Brenda Hauck, Beca Odenthal, Brittany Cowan and Shawna Daniels.Standing front row: Rob Elder, Anne Sumner, Ann Beutler, Kellie Hanna, John Beutler, Maggie Lyons of PAHA, Franco DeSimone, Christine Matheny, Leslie Langley, Karen Erickson and Danielle Kuntz. Standing back row: Steve Mumm, Walt Wardak, Kosh Shioya, Suzan Mascall, Roland Mueller, Tommy Beutler, Marcus Butler and Miles Pointer. Standing in the far back to the left of the tree are Travis Leavitt and Gary Schultz.