Two Leading Bay Area Non-Profits Join Forces to Expand Affordable Housing Solutions in the Nation’s Most Expensive Housing Market

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — MidPen Housing, one of Northern California’s largest non-profit developers and owners of affordable multi-family housing, announced that Hello Housing, an innovator in affordable homeownership programs, has joined as a MidPen affiliate.

Since 1970, MidPen Housing has developed over 7,500 affordable rental homes and today owns and professionally manages nearly 100 properties worth well over $1 billion in real estate assets. MidPen also delivers robust onsite programs and services to help their nearly 17,000 residents advance in all areas of their lives.

Over the past ten years Hello Housing has garnered the trust and respect of Bay Area municipal leaders resulting in the stewardship of nearly 1,000 city-sponsored Below Market Rate (BMR) homes with market value of nearly $450 million and the development of 125 permanently-affordable, urban infill, single-family homes.

Crestview Estates in Daly City, 12 BMR homes sold by Hello Housing to moderate income buyers.
Crestview Estates in Daly City, 12 BMR homes sold by Hello Housing to moderate income buyers.
Their combined expertise primes the two organizations to expand the range of affordable housing solutions available to address the tens of thousands of San Francisco Bay Area residents at risk of being displaced and enables them to respond to the emerging needs of city and country leaders.

As an example, the City of Oakland has been working with Hello Housing to pioneer innovative housing solutions. By repurposing abandoned parcels with tax liens, they are able to put them to work to create new home ownership opportunities.

“Between 2010 and 2014 the Bay Area added roughly half a million private-sector jobs, but only 54,000 more units of housing,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “If we’re going to get our arms around the regional affordability crisis we have to promote innovative multi-city solutions that produce more housing and home ownership opportunities for residents at every income level. I appreciate the work MidPen is doing in Oakland and hope that as they deepen their relationship with Hello Housing we can partner on innovative ways to increase home ownership among Oaklanders and bring permanent affordability to households that live here now.”

MidPen Housing and Hello Housing also recently received a San Mateo County Housing Innovation Fund grant to create a single-family home acquisition program, preserving and expanding rental and ownership opportunities for households with a range of incomes within the County – one of several joint projects in the works.

“We’ve been working with MidPen for years,” said Don Horsley, San Mateo County Supervisor “Thousands of residents across our county live in their high-quality, affordable multi-family rental communities. The affiliation with Hello Housing is exciting as it expands their ability to provide a broader range of housing solutions, something which we urgently need as we face unprecedented high housing costs.”

“As we listen to our city and county partners, it’s clear that in order to help them meet the challenges they face, we need to augment the tools in our tool box,” said Matthew O. Franklin, MidPen Housing President. “So I’m thrilled that Hello Housing, well-respected for their innovative single-family homeownership and rental programs, has become our affiliate. Together, we are able to provide our partners with the housing choices they need.”

Meadow Park in Novato, BMR homeownership. Part of the Hello Housing Stewardship portfolio.
Meadow Park in Novato, BMR homeownership. Part of the Hello Housing Stewardship portfolio.
Hello Stewardship, the flagship program of Hello Housing, helps cities and counties preserve and protect their existing portfolios of BMR homes and helps market-rate developers sell a percentage of their newly-constructed homes at affordable prices to eligible buyers. To date, Hello Housing stewards nearly 1,000 homes across seven Bay Area cities with more in the works.

“We are passionate about creating and preserving affordable housing opportunities integrated into the fabric of existing neighborhoods,” said Mardie Oakes, founder and Executive Director of Hello Housing. “As a MidPen affiliate, we now have the backing and support we need to test, replicate and grow our proven models. I am extremely excited about what we will do together!”

It is the mission of MidPen Housing to provide safe, affordable housing of high quality to those in need; to establish stability and opportunity in the lives of residents; and to foster diverse communities that allow people from all ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds to live in dignity, harmony and mutual respect. Since 1970, MidPen has developed and professionally managed over 7,450 homes for low-income families, seniors and those with special needs. With offices in Foster City, Oakland, Santa Rosa and Watsonville, MidPen works in 11 Northern California counties.

About Hello Housing

Hello Housing, a new affiliate of MidPen Housing, makes places where people thrive. Since 2005, Hello Housing has developed a variety of innovative programs to create and preserve affordable housing for traditionally-underserved communities in the Bay Area. Hello Housing works in close partnership with its government partners to help them make and maintain housing investments today that will benefit low and moderate income communities for generations to come.