Giving Compass' Take:

• The Conversation reports on a project through the Melbourne-based Barnett Foundation to provide a viable pathway to home ownership for those who previously relied on social housing.

• What can foundations and other groups in the U.S. learn from this example? How could such a project be scaled to address the growing affordable housing crisis?

• Here's one possible solution: community land trusts, which have their own accelerator program.


Social housing is in crisis in Australia, with almost 200,000 people on waiting lists. Social housing made up 8% of all housing stock in Australia in 1966. This had fallen to just 4.3% at July 2016.

As a result, governments have tightened eligibility. Social housing is increasingly home to only the most vulnerable households. And even these households often spend years on the waiting list while experiencing severe housing stress or homelessness.

Outside of social housing, rental and ownership options are increasingly unaffordable, particularly in the capital cities. Social housing was once a stepping stone to home ownership, but this is becoming more difficult.

The Melbourne-based Barnett Foundation responded by creating a model of affordable home ownership for social housing tenants. The foundation developed a 34-unit apartment in the inner suburb of North Melbourne and offered 28 units to households living within two-and-a-half miles of the site and willing to leave their social housing. It’s called the Melbourne Apartments Project (MAP).

The foundation offered an interest-free second mortgage scheme to ease buyers’ transition into home ownership. This allows the owner to retain 100% ownership of their home while combining their own savings, a standard first mortgage with a bank and a second mortgage with the foundation.

Read the full article about Australia's affordable home-ownership plan by Katrina Raynor at The Conversation.