New Homes For Northeast Houston
New homes are coming to Northeast Houston!
The City of Houston is partnering with Houston Habitat for Humanity to develop Robins Landing . Houston Habitat for Humanity will oversee the development of the new mixed-income, master-planned community on a 127-acre tract in Northeast Houston. With a total of 468 single-family homes including 400 affordable homes (for homebuyers earning up to 120% of Houston’s Area Median Income (AMI)) and 68 market-rate homes, the development’s home designs include a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom single-family detached homes. Additional amenities include a central park and town center.
Through the Affordable Home Development Program, the City of Houston will provide a forgivable loan of $4,793,228 from the Uptown TIRZ Series 2021 Affordable Homes Funds to help finance the infrastructure for the mixed-income development.
Interested in buying an attainable home financed by the City of Houston? Complete your application today!
About East Houston
The name is taken from an old subdivision located just off what was then the highway to Beaumont; most of that old town site remains undeveloped. The community is made up largely of single-family homes in standard suburban tract subdivisions. The area remains generally wooded, especially close to Halls Bayou, where a City of Houston golf course, Brock Park, is found. A major industrial park, Railwood, is located in the southeast corner of the community adjacent to a major land fill. One neighborhood, Verde Forest, is a recent addition to the City, having been annexed in 1996.
Please visit the Superneighborhood 49 – East Houston page to learn more.
About The Developer
Houston Habitat for Humanity is committed to a world where everyone has a decent place to live. It partners with low- to moderate-income Houstonians to create and preserve home ownership through home construction, rehabilitation and repair, infrastructure development for new residential communities, neighborhood revitalization and community building in the city of Houston. Since 1987, Houston Habitat has built more than 1,150 new homes and developed 11 neighborhoods throughout Houston, including Fifth Ward, East Houston and Settegast and repaired countless others, including over 800 damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Houston Habitat also operates 3 ReStores, retail home improvement and décor stores which sell to the general public at a fraction of retail pricing, keep millions of pounds of materials out of landfills.
About the Affordable Home Development Program
Key Facts
-
The program aims to create new homeownership opportunities for residents.
-
Developments located across Houston.
-
Developments are mixed-income. At least 40 homes in each AHDP development will be attainable to households earning up to 120% of the Area Median Income or less. For a family of four, for example, this would mean earning $106,300 or less as of 2022.
FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Note: The following FAQ pertains to the City’s administration of the Affordable Home Development Program. The City’s developer partners may have additional program guidelines.
Q: How do I buy a home? - Answer
A: Homebuyers will purchase market and attainable rate homes directly through the developers. The City will partner with the developer to co-market and perform income eligibility reviews for the attainable rate homes.
Q: What role does the City have in the homebuyer process? - Answer
The City will partner with the developer to comarket the community. This includes cohosting community meetings, and webinars.
Additionally, the City will perform income eligibility reviews for homebuyers purchasing an attainable rate home.
Q: Can I use down payment assistance programs to help buy a home? - Answer
A: Homebuyers purchasing affordable or market rate homes may use down payment assistance programs available to them through their private mortgage lender or other entities.
Q: What do you mean by “attainable rate” homes? - Answer
A: Generally, rent or mortgage payments should not exceed 30% of household gross income. The City’s financial investment through the Affordable Home Development Program will decrease the purchase price from the current market rate to the homebuyer’s secured fixed rate mortgage to make homes more attainable.
Q: How will I know when homes are available to purchase? - Answer
A: The developer will market when the homes are available to purchase. HCD will also inform the community through the HCD Homebuyers Hub page, and HCD social media.
Q: How will the homebuyer process work? - Answer
A: The first step for every homebuyer will be to secure a 30-year fixed rate mortgage from a lender. For homebuyers purchasing a market-rate home, they will then continue the traditional homebuyer process.
Homebuyers purchasing an attainable-rate home will also need to attend a HUD-certified eight (8) hour homebuyer education course and earn up to 120% of the Area Median Income as determined by HUD when purchasing the home. The City’s financial investment through the Affordable Home Development Program will decrease the purchase price from the current market rate to the homebuyer’s secured fixed rate mortgage to meet the attainable home price.
Q: Is there an affordability period or secondary lien on the homes?- Answer
A: The City will not impose a secondary lien on market-rate homes.
The City will impose a five-year secondary lien on attainable rate homes. The secondary lien will be forgiven at the end of the five-year period. Please note that individual developers may impose a longer secondary lien on attainable rate homes.
Q: Will there be any difference between market-rate homes and attainable homes? - Answer
A: No, all homes will have the same construction quality, finishes, and appliances.
