New Albemarle Housing Assistance
Charlottesville Newsplex
(RECAP: First time home buyers in Albemarle County have another tool to help them afford that new home. The HomeStride Program offers moderate income households up to $20,000 in down payment assistance. The program is sponsored through the Virginia Housing Development Authority. Housing Director Ron White said this program will help some not eligible for other programs.)

Making Their Dreams a Reality
Suffolk News-Herald
(RECAP: The Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority is about to make the American dream of homeownership possible for four families. Contractors will break ground this week on four new 1,600-square-foot houses in Hall Place that will be sold to qualifying first-time homeowners, said Charles Felder, development director for the SRHA. The SRHA will help applicants fund the purchase by picking up the down payments and closing cost tabs, which will total about $4,000 per house, Felder said. That will be funded with a grant from the Virginia Housing Development Authority.)

Groups Meet to Discuss Exmore Housing Project
Tasley Eastern Shore News
(RECAP: A low-income housing development proposed for Occohannock Neck Road drew comments and questions at a workshop hosted by the Accomack-Northampton Regional Housing Authority Wednesday at the town hall here. The project could add up to 200 new homes in Exmore -- increasing by nearly half the number of houses in town -- although an architect leading the workshop put the likely number closer to 100.)

Colonial Inn Site Pitched for Housing
The Free Lance-Star
(RECAP: The Virginia United Methodist Housing Development Corp. has proposed putting 80 units of housing for low-income adults 55 and over where the Colonial Inn now stands on Princess Anne Street . The group has applied for a special exception and special use permit from Fredericksburg city officials to put the apartments on two acres in the commercially zoned area.)

Richland Hills Fighting Zoning Technicalities, Not Pedcor
Lynchburg News & Advance
(RECAP: Editorial - Our city council needs to protect the people, not the business-interest-sector - per-se. Our city government, from the comments made and printed, seems to be protecting the business and government before honoring the real constituent … its citizens.)

Fear Factor: Housing Complex Opponents Imagine the Worst
Bristol Herald Courier
(RECAP: Editorial - The need for affordable housing isn't unique to Bristol , nor is it going away anytime soon. The workers who wait tables, take orders at the office supply call center and ring up purchases at the local discount store deserve a place to live.)

Officials Delay Vote on Housing Project
Bristol Herald Courier
(RECAP: About 70 residents stood and applauded Monday night after the Board of Zoning Appeals again delayed action on a controversial apartment complex.)

Bristol Teacher: Working Poor No Different From Us
SPECIAL TO THE Bristol Herald Courier
(RECAP: Editorial - The working poor work every bit as hard as their more well-to-do fellow Americans - some of whom may be earning many times their yearly income. Contrary to myth, the vast majority of the working poor don't wish to live off social programs funded by taxes from their more affluent brethren. They want to work - and live - with honor and respectability.)

Suit Filed Against Region 10
Daily Progress
(RECAP: Some Charlottesville residents concerned about the expansion of a mental health home in their neighborhood and what they suspect was an inappropriate closed-door talk about it are taking their concerns to court.)

Housing Project Given Hearing
The Free Lance-Star
(RECAP: The historic value of the Colonial Inn, the need for affordable senior housing, and the economic viability of the Princess Anne Street corridor were all up for discussion before Fredericksburg's Planning Commission last night. A dozen people weighed in on the Virginia United Methodist Housing Development Corp.'s proposal to replace the Colonial Inn with a four-story, 80-unit senior housing complex. The group's president, Robert Regan, said the apartments would be built with state affordable-housing tax credits. They would rent to adults 55 and over, and the income limit would be about $38,000 for a single person.)

Supervisors Hear Ideas on Affordable Housing
Fauquier Times-Democrat / The Fauquier Citizen
(RECAP: There's no quick fix, affordable housing task force members agreed in a report, but Fauquier's Board of Supervisors at least put the issue back in the limelight Thursday with a vote to form a committee dedicated to providing lower-cost homes in the county. Called the Affordable Housing Committee, the group will be comprised of the same officials who have spent the past few months on the county-sponsored Affordable Housing Task Force, as well as appointees from Remington and The Plains.)

Affordable Housing Elusive
Homes under $200,000 get harder to find in the area
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: T he price of homes in the Richmond area has grown faster than annual salaries, local Realtors said. In 2005, the average home sale price in the Richmond metro area was $238,000, according to the Partnership for Workforce Homes. This year, that number jumped to more than $256,000. Meanwhile, the average annual salary for a firefighter in the metro area falls just below $40,000. On that salary, the most house such a firefighter could reasonably afford would be less than $140,000.)

Prince William Apartments are Being Renovated as Condominiums
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
(RECAP: A developer is completing a condominium conversion at the former Prince William Apartments on Plank Road in Fredericksburg . He hopes to capitalize on a long-neglected but much-needed commodity: reasonably priced housing. Greg Yates, a Culpeper-based developer, said he is spending $1.5 million to upgrade the apartments, which he purchased in 1999. Introductory prices for the 42 one- and two-bedroom units range from $169,900 to $179,900. Square footage is 680 for one-bedroom units and 994 for two-bedroom units.)

Local Policies Limit Affordable Housing
Minimum lot size, fees for builders drive up costs for homebuyers
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: Local governments push up the prices of houses when they require larger lots or assess higher building fees. After all, someone has to pay for the demands that growth places on schools and other services.)

Wanted: Affordable Home
Lower your expectations and move quickly on a bid
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: Housing prices in the Richmond area have shot up in the past couple of years, rising as much as 15 percent this year alone. That makes it tough for many people, including nurses, firefighters and police officers, to buy a home.)

Are We Stretched?: Housing Plays Critical Role In Region
CONNIE CHAMBERLIN - Guest Columnist
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: Not too long ago "affordable housing" was something only poor people worried about. Today the poor still suffer from inadequate housing, but many others are also now struggling to find a place that meets their needs -- and that they can afford. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 45 percent of the renters in the Richmond metropolitan statistical area (MSA) are unable to afford the fair market rate for a two-bedroom apartment -- meaning that they are spending more than 30 percent of their income for housing, limiting their ability to pay for food, clothing, or medical care. And in 2004, 40.2 percent of all new single-family mortgages in Virginia were interest-only loans -- a clear sign that homeowners are stretched to their limit.)

A Shortage: Housing Issue Creeps Into Middle Class
FRANCES STANLEY - Guest Columnist
Richmond Times Dispatch
(RECAP: Housing is more than just a house, it is a home -- it is the foundation upon which individuals and families anchor lives. Housing is a basic human need. It is the quality and choice of housing that can enhance or diminish the well-being of individuals and families, as well as that of an entire community. Unfortunately, the Greater Richmond area is facing a growing shortage of affordable housing.)

Public Square: 'Housing Needs Fixes'
Hundreds attend T-D forum to appeal for more affordable homes
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: Housing costs in the Richmond area are driving many people out of the market, residents complained at a packed public forum last night. Renters, county and city officials including Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, builders, housing nonprofits, local college students, mortgage lenders and homeless advocates were represented.)

Housing Advisory Board Address Shortage With Builders
Leesburg Today
(RECAP: Loudoun Housing Advisory Board members sought to drum up support among local builders yesterday for their proposed solutions to the county's housing needs, including a half-cent tax that would generate revenue for a $5 million housing trust fund. Four members of the board presented the results of a workforce housing study to about 50 members of the Loudoun County chapter of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association at a breakfast meeting at the Washington Dulles Marriott.)

Court Rules Against County in Clarendon Church Case
Plans for new church sanctuary and 10-story building, with affordable units, on hold.
The Connection Newspapers
(RECAP: A controversial project that would have placed dozens of affordable housing units on a church's property in the heart of Clarendon has been temporarily halted after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the County Board violated its own zoning ordinance in approving the project two years ago.)

Work-Force Homes Under Construction
The Virginia Gazette
(RECAP: JAMES CITY - A push by developers to build more affordable homes and apartments is coming to fruition. There's a waiting list of applicants, but people are encouraged to apply because the list changes. Two workforce apartment units have already been built, Longhill Grove and Rolling Meadows . A third is under construction by Ripley Heatwole Co. of Virginia Beach. The Station at Norge is going up in Norge on Croaker Road . All 104 apartments are set aside for median-income families and singles needing two or three bedrooms. Operating under the state's low-income housing tax credit program, tenants need to qualify to get in. Rents will range from $465 for a one-bedroom unit up to $780 for two.)

MONEY & MARKETING: Favorable Financing Terms Vital to Affordable Housing
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(RECAP: Even though many are concerned about affordable housing, there seems to be a great deal of misconception of what this means. Most apparently equate the price of a home with its affordability. Then they look at the income of the buyer to see if it meets the much-touted 30 percent minimum limit as expressed in terms of the price. Based on this kind of analysis, many homeowners are living in unaffordable homes. The problem with this ratio is that it does not reflect what is currently happening in the marketplace.)

Making Houses Affordable
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
(RECAP: Aside from city of Fredericksburg programs that help home-buyers pay closing costs and homeowners afford major repairs, area localities have not yet offered many affordable-housing options. But Spotsylvania, Stafford and Fredericksburg officials are now discussing ways to expand strategies in their soon-to-be updated comprehensive plans--a blueprint for future development.)

Opening of New Coppermine Units Celebrated
Times Community Newspapers
(RECAP: The Wesley Housing Development Corp. held its grand opening of Coppermine Place I and II in Herndon on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The development's new 88 units are specifically designed for affordable housing for seniors and individuals with mobility impairments.)