Affordable Housing and Realtors: The Potential for Profit

Lenders statewide foresee affordable housing as an important emerging market for new construction projects, community developers and home loans. Which means it should be an attractive new market for real estate agents, too.

Given the state's transitioning economy, affordable housing -- whether for low-income or first-time buyers, or renters -- may become even more important:

  • If more programs existed to help low-income, first-time and credit-challenged buyers overcome common hurdles to buying a home; then

  • Affordable housing would be an even more lucrative market, and one warranting additional attention from realtors.

Jack McCombs sells real estate in Fort Wayne, and has for the past 30 years. He has served as the president of the Fort Wayne Board of Realtors and also with the Indiana Association of Realtors. He's quick to point out the biggest reason many real estate agents focus little effort on selling affordable housing -- there's often more work involved in the sale to secure financing, and lower profit to be made.

Like others involved in community and economic development, he agrees that homeownership is an important financial building block.

People tend to take care of a home when it's their own property, which leads to nicer neighborhoods, rising home values, and homeowners who "buy up" into more expensive homes -- which benefits homeowners and real estate agents alike.

And lenders are becoming more comfortable with higher-risk mortgage loans. The only element missing to help affordable homebuyers are the state programs necessary to help those with low incomes and those with no or poor credit qualify for an appropriate loan.

"Where programs exist to help new and credit-challenged buyers overcome those hurdles like closing costs and down payments, there are opportunities for agents to make enough money to be worth the time they invest in selling the home," McCombs says.

"From a social standpoint, supporting affordable housing is the thing to do. But the more folks you get into a home that can truly afford it -- and are ready for the responsibility --  the better they'll maintain that home, and that's good for the neighborhood, the community and the city. I can't believe anybody would argue against affordable housing."

Jack McCombs
Prodigy Realtors
Fort Wayne

"From a social standpoint, supporting affordable housing is the thing to do. But the more folks you get into a home that can truly afford it --  and are ready for the responsibility -- the better they'll maintain that home, and that's good for the neighborhood, the community and the city. I can't believe anybody would argue against affordable housing."

Jack McCombs
Prodigy Realtors
Fort Wayne