Fair Housing Through Shared Equity
How Community Land Trusts Expand Opportunity, Stability, and Belonging
Washington Terrace homes in downtown Raleigh
Every April, Fair Housing Month invites us to reflect on a simple but powerful truth: everyone deserves a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. Yet for many families, especially first‑time buyers, essential workers, and historically marginalized communities, the path to homeownership remains out of reach.
At Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT), we believe fair housing isn’t just about preventing discrimination. It’s about building systems that create lasting access, not temporary fixes. That’s where shared equity homeownership comes in.
What Shared Equity Really Means
Shared equity is a model designed to keep homes affordable not just today, but for generations. Through the community land trust (CLT) approach:
The land is held in trust for long-term community benefit.
Homeowners purchase the home, not the land, lowering the upfront cost.
Affordability is preserved permanently, so each resale creates another opportunity for a family who might otherwise be priced out.
Homeowners build real equity, gaining stability and a foothold in the market.
This model flips the script on traditional housing, where affordability often disappears after the first sale. Instead, shared equity ensures that public and philanthropic investments continue to serve the community again and again.
To learn more, reach out to us at info@ralt.org.
