HCVs to Homeownership Cohort
A one-of-a kind learning cohort for communities that want to create homeownership opportunities for low-income renters.
In the HCVs to Homeownership Cohort, participants are learning how to leverage land banks and HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program to create homeownership opportunities for low-income renters in their community.
Affordable homeownership continues to be vital for family stability and wealth creation. Our recent survey data shows that over 70 percent of land banks are currently engaged in or planning to engage in creating affordable housing in the next three years. To meet this growing demand, land banks need innovative strategies that leverage existing resources.
Community Progress is launching the HCVs to Homeownership Cohort to improve land banks’ capacity to add homeownership opportunities through strategic partnership with HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.
The HCVs to Homeownership Cohort is made possible by generous funding from the Prudential Foundation.
While the application deadline for this opportunity has passed, you can find more information about the Newark model below. Check back for additional resources in the fall, when the cohort concludes.
Are you a member of the learning cohort? Visit the web portal here »
Application Deadline
February 4, 2026 5pm ET
Questions? Please email Carolina Rodriguez, Associate Director of Technical Assistance, at [email protected].
Application Deadline
February 4, 2026 5 PM ET
Questions? Please email Carolina Rodriguez, Associate Director of Technical Assistance, at [email protected].
Background
Homeownership is a proven path to building personal and generational wealth. Because communities face an intensifying housing affordability crisis, making the dream of homeownership come true is challenging. Low-income families find it increasingly difficult to afford even the most basic entry costs of homeownership, such as monthly mortgage payments and down payments.
Land banks can play an important role in addressing the need for affordable homeownership opportunities. Nearly all communities, including those with large inventories of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) properties, have a shortage of quality, affordable homes to meet their residents’ needs and incomes. In the 2025 National Land Bank Network survey, over 70 percent of land banks reported they engage in creating affordable housing or are planning to in the next three years.
The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program is the nation's largest tenant-based housing assistance program, serving 2.3 million households. It is administered by HUD and local public housing agencies. Within HCV is a Homeownership Option, which permits the voucher holder to redirect the monthly payment from rent toward a mortgage and other costs.
However, this long-standing public program is vastly underutilized by local administrators of the HCV program. Since 2015, there have been just over 12,000 homeownership closings despite the program demonstrating great success and historically low foreclosure rates.
Land banks—experts in transforming vacant properties—have incredible potential to work with local agencies that administer the HCV Program and other key partners to help local voucher holders transition from low-income renters to first-time homebuyers.
The Power of Partnership:
The Newark Land Bank (NLB) Model
This learning cohort is built around the work of the Newark Land Bank (NLB), which has a first-of-its-kind program leveraging the HCV Homeownership Option.
The Opportunity: The HCV Program is the nation's largest tenant-based housing assistance program. While it serves 2.3 million households, only about 10,000 voucher holders currently become homebuyers annually, indicating tremendous, untapped potential for scaling this model across the country.
The NLB Model: Since 2022, thanks to generous support from the Prudential Foundation and technical assistance from Community Progress, NLB successfully established key partnerships with their local public housing authority and a nonprofit mortgage lender.
The Impact: To date, this program has successfully supported 15 first-time homebuyers by converting rental vouchers to homeownership, utilizing a powerful strategy that includes:
- Converting rental vouchers to homeownership financing;
- Rehabilitating land bank properties for homebuyer acquisition; and
- Offering targeted credit counseling and support.
About the Learning Cohort
Participating Communities
Community Progress received over 25 letters of interest and, through a competitive selection process, selected 13 communities to participate in the learning cohort. These communities are participating as teams that include their land banks, public housing agencies, local government representatives, and partners like lenders, philanthropy, and community development organizations.
Learning Cohort Communities
- Allegheny County/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Brunswick, Georgia
- Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat, Puerto Rico
- Detroit, Michigan
- Erie, Pennsylvania
- Lima, Ohio
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Muncie, Indiana
- Newark, New Jersey
- Pittston, Pennsylvania
- Rockford, Illinois
- Schenectady, New York
- St. Louis, Missouri
Program Topics
Over four sessions, participants will:
- Learn from peers how to structure and formalize effective partnerships between land banks and local public housing authorities
- Put each agency’s strengths to work to serve first-time homebuyers and increase the use of the HCV Homeownership option in your community
- Gain actionable tools to adapt the NLB's successful model to their community
Questions?
Community Progress encourages interested entities to reach out with any questions before preparing a Letter of Interest. Please direct any questions to Carolina Rodriguez, Associate Director of Technical Assistance, at [email protected].
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