The terms “shared equity homeownership” and “shared appreciation homeownership” are sometimes used to describe very different products. Some practitioners use them to refer to public or nonprofit homeownership programs that ensure that specific homes remain affordable over the long-term, such as community land trusts, deed-restricted homes, or limited-equity cooperatives. Others use these terms to describe private-sector mortgage programs that involve the sharing of home equity and/or future home price appreciation. Still others include publicly-funded mortgages with similar characteristics within the terms’ scope.
To help bring greater clarity to this emerging field, the Center for Housing Policy has released a new report entitled, What’s in a Name? Clarifying the Different Forms and Policy Objectives of “Shared Equity” and “Shared Appreciation” Homeownership Programs. This report seeks to outline the overall characteristics of shared equity/shared appreciation homeownership models and identify the distinguishing characteristics of the multiple programs. The report also demonstrates how the different programs fulfill somewhat different housing policy objectives.
To learn more about “shared equity” and “shared appreciation” homeownership, or to exchange ideas with others on these topics, please join the Shared Equity Homeownership Discussion Group on the HousingPolicy.org Forum.