Building a miracle

POST FALLS — For two long years, Ryan Ryle and fiance Jayne Foster tried to buy a home in North Idaho.

Ryle, who grew up just on the other side of the Idaho-Washington stateline, said the couple would put in offers on houses just to constantly be outbid by other buyers who had larger down payments or cash in hand.

“We even looked at new builds, but we needed so much earnest money down, we couldn’t save for it,” Ryle said Thursday.

The couple wished to return to the Inland Northwest after living in an apartment in Seattle. Ryle had been away for 18 years and wanted to come back to the area he remembered, even though much has changed since he left, especially the housing market.

Ryle and Foster worked with a lender and a real estate agent through the trials and tribulations of skyrocketing housing costs and rising demand. Both the agent and the lender remained dedicated allies for the couple on the often defeating roller coaster ride to homeownership.

With help from the nonprofit Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, the agent and the lender, Ryle and Foster secured financing from the Federal Housing Administration and a small second loan from the Idaho Housing and Finance Association.

They found a home in Post Falls. The seller met with them. Their offer was accepted.

Ryle and Foster, rattled by constant rejection and dashed dreams, just finished moving into their home Thursday. They can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Without PAHA we wouldn’t have gotten it,” Ryle said. “We would have been outbid. It was amazing for us.

“We’re not planning on leaving anytime soon,” he said. “We’re happy to finally have a place to call our own.”

Ryle, a concrete worker, and Foster, a retail employee, followed a trajectory that is not uncommon for working-class families that wish to live in the Gem State.

As of June 30, 2023, Idaho ranked 12th in the nation in terms of the highest median single-family housing price — $443,638 — according to “Next Steps: The Housing Availability and Affordability Study for Kootenai County,” prepared by University of Idaho professor Steve Peterson and sponsored by Coeur d’Alene Area Economic Development Corporation, PAHA, the Avista Foundation and the University of Idaho’s College of Business and Economics, Vandal Impact Center. Kootenai County’s median housing price was even higher, at $525,000.

Idaho’s population growth continues to lead the nation. It ranked only behind Florida from 2021 to 2022, although the rate of growth may be tapering off. From 2012 to 2022, Idaho ranked second in the nation in cumulative median housing price increases at 226%, second only to Nevada.

According to the U of I report, the percentage of Kootenai County households able to afford to purchase homes fell from 75% in 2016 to 20% in 2023. Local rental prices have risen so sharply that many low-income families pay 50% or more of their income for housing.

As of July 2023, 3,540 jobs remained unfilled specifically due to lack of housing in Kootenai County, with a negative economic impact of more than $1 billion in lost sales, lost payroll and lost gross regional product. A growing number of residents are moving out of the area because they cannot afford the cost of housing.

However, homeownership hope is on the horizon.

Some are even calling it a miracle — “The Miracle on Britton.”

“The partnerships that are coming together on this are just so providentially guided,” PAHA Executive Director Maggie Lyons said. “We as a community are in the middle of something magnificent on this.”

Miracle in the making

On a quiet stretch of Greensferry Road in Post Falls, south of Prairie Avenue and north of Poleline Avenue, is a fully developed, 4.65-acre parcel on the newly built Britton Road.

This parcel of 28 lots was bought by PAHA in August 2023 through a promissory note at 5% interest for 12 months, carried by the seller.

So far, $400,000 has been pledged. If another $1.6 million can be raised by the end of May, this neighborhood can start transforming into a shining example of how public-private partnerships can offer solutions to North Idaho’s housing crisis.

“If we had the land paid for today, we would be building tomorrow,” Lyons said.

PAHA, with local developers, builders and municipal leaders, is spearheading unique homeownership programs based on qualifying incomes: Community land trusts and property development alliances, also called deed-restricted fee simple homes, which means land and home are sold, but the deeds are restricted. Both of these are examples of “shared equity” homes. The plan is for Britton to include 11 land trusts and 17 deed-restricted fee simple homes.

“Community land trusts have been around for over 30 years in communities all over the country,” Lyons said.

“There is no land cost in that homeownership,” she said. “Through land trusts, we are able to get the price of the homes as low as possible.”

Land trusts require the cost of the land to be underwritten; only the home is sold and the land is owned by a housing nonprofit, such as PAHA. Through land donations and fundraising, PAHA officials hope land trust homes will provide about 33% of the shared equity homes needed for households earning $50,000-$80,000 per year. The other 67% of needed shared equity homes will be deed-restricted fee simple — this is where land and homes are sold and priced at less than market rate. Developers commit a small portion of proposed developments to deed-restricted homes with incentives from cities and the county, and possibly the state, to do so.

Lyons provided an example of how this could work: A builder has raw land on which to build 100 homes. The builder speaks with city officials, asking for approval for 100 homes. In return, the builder would dedicate 10% of those homes to deed-restricted worker housing. In return for that, greater density is needed just on those 10 homes to bring down the land cost per home. The city agrees, and also agrees to help with permitting, impact and cap fees and provides streamlined approvals.

Thus, a public-private partnership is created that benefits the builder, the city and the residents.

“What can our state and our municipalities do to figure out how we bring the development cost of shared equity homes down? Because the private market can’t lose money on building these homes,” Lyons said. “The private market will drive the inventory of shared equity homes we need if we can reach this magic balance.”

Britton homes will be built to fit the incomes of lower- to middle-class households, ranging in price from $200,000 to $400,000. The eligibility to purchase these homes will be based on established income and asset limits. The percentage of market appreciation the owner can own will be capped at a fair return.

Also, to prevent these homes from being flipped into short-term rentals, those who buy them must live in them.

“Land trust homes will always be a significant public-private partnership — land is either donated or fundraising is done to buy the land, which is what we’re doing right now because we need to take the land cost out of the equation for all 28 homes for Britton,” Lyons said.

PAHA’s construction partner is Simplicity by Hayden Homes. Simplicity shares PAHA’s vision and mission to provide homeownership opportunities for local workers. Britton’s shared equity homes will be beautiful, Lyons assured. They will be lived in by teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses, dental hygienists, plumbers, store clerks and others who contribute to the local workforce.

Those who purchase the homes are welcome to stay forever, or they may take the capped equity they built and use it for a down payment on a market-rate home.

“They will be available only to a range of middle-income households,” Lyons said. “That’s the key. That’s why the shared equity is magic. They become the launching pad for people to move on to market-rate homes.”

Next steps

The primary objective of the “Miracle on Britton” neighborhood is to launch Kootenai County on a journey to build homes that local workers can afford to buy. When all is said and done, 28 families will be living in these houses, finally with homes to call their own. This project will serve as a blueprint for how land trust and deed-restricted fee simple homes work, as well as show how deed-restricted homes are managed.

According to PAHA, the Britton homes will be built with the aim to instill hope and belief among municipalities, developers/builders and residents that it is possible to build an inventory of homes that will remain forever affordable for lower and middle-income households. The goal is to begin to transform lives through wealth creation and stability, while unleashing the potential of the private market, which will build the inventory of homes needed.

Support for the project is already pouring in from the community.

Les Atchley, president of Atchley Financial Group, along with wife Janet Atchley, donated $25,000 to support the “Miracle on Britton” because they are passionate about supporting their fellow Kootenai County residents who are working hard and doing their best to make ends meet but cannot afford to rent appropriate housing, much less buy a home, Les Atchley said.

“We happily contributed to PAHA, which will provide 28 affordable homes for families who otherwise would not have an opportunity for homeownership,” Les Atchley said. “I believe all county residents with the ability to help our fellow citizens should seize this opportunity. We need to allow the folks who provide so many services for us to live here. If we as caring people don't do this, we will see many businesses close for lack of hard-working employees. That would be an unspeakable tragedy.”

Lyons said PAHA welcomes everyone to work together to make this project a reality.

“We need donations to pay for the land,” she said. “Construction and financing are taking shape. Together we can make homeownership a reality for hardworking people in our area who need it, while at the same time showing we value our citizens and want to preserve the integrity of our growing community.”

For information, email Lyons at maggie@pahaid.org or call 208-659-3477.

    This single-level starter home is an example of the houses Hayden Homes will build on Britton Road in Post Falls as part of a unique project to help with North Idaho's housing crisis.
  

    The interior of a Hayden Homes "Canyon" home that will be built in Post Falls as part of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance's efforts to provide homeownership opportunities for North Idaho's workforce. The project needs $1.6 million by the end of May for construction to begin.
  

    Lyons