The average price of a single-family home in Ann Arbor is more than $600,000, facing a 3% increase between 2025 and 2026. Townie Homes, an initiative by the Ann Arbor Community Land Trust, aims to create affordable homes for Ann Arbor’s critical workers. Townie Homes are newly built, 2-3 bedroom single family homes priced roughly between $125,000 and $300,000 — much below the average market rate. The program budget currently subsidizes development of 26 homes which are projected to complete construction by the end of the year.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Sarah Lorenz, A2CLT founder and executive director, explained that Townie Homes provides essential affordable housing options in Ann Arbor amid rising housing costs. Lorenz said the program keeps homes affordable through the community land trust model which adds deed and pricing restrictions for homeowners when listing their homes on the market.
“The Community Land Trust has a deed restriction or a ground lease that requires people to sell at a similarly low price,” Lorenz said. “They get some appreciation over time, but they’re going to sell it to us at a price that was similar to what they bought at that time. That was the first element (of Townie Homes), because we knew the demand was so great that just us building 100 or 200 homes wasn’t going to bring down the prices of every other house in Ann Arbor.”…