During the Great Recession, when many families lost their homes, retirement savings, and pensions, a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy study found that CLT homeowners were 8 times less likely to go into foreclosure than market rate homeowners. This is due to the subsidized purchase price CLT buyers benefit from, as well as the financial fitness education requirements that are an integral part of CLT programs. In addition, most CLT organizations are able to provide support to homeowners in the case of default or financial hardships. CLTs have the ability to intervene to try to purchase a home back from a homeowner before the home is foreclosed on, or provide assistance to avoid foreclosure.
- CLT ownership is a form of shared equity homeownership. The median amount of equity shared equity homeowners take with them when they sell their home is $14,000.
- 6 out of 10 shared equity homeowners use their earned equity to purchase a traditional home after they sell
- 7 out of 10 shared equity buyers are 1st time homebuyers
- In Montana, over 150 households have benefited from CLT homeownership
- In the U.S. as a whole, #### households have benefited from CLT homeownership. (looking for that number)
Most of the CLT homes in Montana are in Missoula and Kalispell, with a few in Bozeman, and another 50+ homes planned for development in Big Sky and Red Lodge in the next two years. There are currently no CLT farms in Montana, but Trust Montana is working with multiple farmers around the state to develop plans for placing their farms in trust to preserve them as working farms into the future.