Should the Affordable Housing Policy be amended to further define comparable contributions?
The Housing Committee has recommended that a reasonable cash proffer be defined as an amount needed to provide a 10% down payment on an affordable unit. With affordability proposed to be defined at 65% of VHDAs maximum sales price for first-time homebuyer programs, it is recommended that reasonable comparable contributions in lieu of an affordable unit be defined as up to 6.5% of the same index, which is currently $19,100. 4. Promoting initial and long-term affordability Can the affordability goals be met with housing units that have an affordable selling price or an affordable appraised value? At least two developments that proffered affordable units have since indicated that their units will be appraised at levels significantly higher than the proffered sales price. Thus, the units are not affordable although the developer/builder is providing an affordable opportunity to the first purchaser by subsidizing the sale. The Housing Committee believes that the intent of the Affordable Hou
