As the unflagging challenge of housing affordability spreads to all corners of the country, novel efforts to increase the prevalence of limited equity cooperatives (LECs) are getting underway. Long a model most associated with a handful of Northeastern markets, this new interest spans an array of cities in many different parts of the country, with projects taking shape in places as diverse as Missoula, Nashville, Seattle, and Portland, Maine.
In a new paper, completed as part of my 2025 Gramlich Fellowship in Community and Economic Development, I review the approaches, outcomes, and challenges for several of these recent projects. The paper, which draws on interviews with more than two dozen individuals possessing a combination of project-specific and sector-wide expertise, as well as a review of the literature on LECs and project-related materials, hopefully will be a useful resource for practitioners and others exploring LECs as a prospective solution to ongoing housing challenges.
Read the rest at the Joint Center for Housing Studies
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