Discuss truly affordable cohousing

Truly affordable cohousing and accessibility are the current hot topics on the Cohousing mailing list. Although there is a concerted effort at many projects to have some units available to people with low incomes, posters (including myself) have suggested that many new building techniques can open the cohousing threshold to low-income and poverty-level people.

Most projects have an entry-level expense of about $200,000 to $300,000 and up. A typical three-bedroom home in cohousing can be the same price as comparable homes in that geographical market. Project home prices often are slightly higher than comparable homes when the shared expense of developing the community (Common House) and/or 'green' construction features are included.

Affordable housing examples that could cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 include smaller houses (less than 1,000 square feet), prefabricated or modular homes, converted shipping crates, Katrina Cottages, or homes built entirely of recycled materials. Many of these types of dwellings are discussed on the Small Home Society mailing list and on a growing variety of web sites focused on sustainable and ecological building construction.

I'm looking forward to further discussions and will include new information here as the topic unfolds. Please contribute your observations or opinions about truly affordable cohousing in 'comments' to this post.

Portland project combines green, small living

In Portland, Oregon, people work together to get stuff done - or so it says in this article published in the March 2008 issue of Sunset magazine. The article focuses on three couples with 'green' lifestyles. One of the couples is Laura Ford and Josh Devine who are part of a 4-unit infill community called Sabin Green. It consists of four homes on a 75- by 100-foot lot that used to have only a single two-bedroom bungalow and garage. Developed with affordability in mind, Josh and Laura's house cost $143,000 and is 530 square feet. The cohousing project meets two big goals - having a small footprint AND providing a house they could afford.

Wisconsin cohousing bucks national downturn in home sales

While today's housing market falls apart, cohousing projects in Madison, WI, aren't having problems selling units, according to an article on the Madison Commons web site.

Three cohousing projects already exist in Madison. A fourth in the works is providing a "little shining bright spot in the Madison housing market," a future resident of Arboretum Cohousing said.

Affordable for Troy Gardens was $109,500 for a two-bedroom condo and $139,500 for three bedrooms. The project used federal and local funds and the profits from its 10 market-rate homes to subsidize 30 below-market-rate units. This let sometimes expensive 'green building' elements to be installed in all 40 units.

Habitat for Humanity built one unit in the Arbco Cohousing project.