House Party with Ivory Innovations

How can we help those most in need  find rental housing? What role can community-based organizations and property managers play in doing so? Housing Connector is bringing together these key players into a  user-friendly technology platform to help low income and vulnerable populations get connected to affordable housing. 

Housing Connector was a 2023 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability Finalist in Public Policy and Regulatory Ref...

To satisfy federal and state diversity requirements, how do developers get connected with minority and / or women-owned firms for construction projects? Many developers actually struggle to fulfill these requirements because they can’t find minority and women-owned subcontractors. This is where Tough Leaf comes in. Learn about how this tech platform is bringing something new and innovative to this process.

Tough Leaf was a 2023 Ivo...

What if we re-imagined real estate development and put communities in the driver’s seat? Frolic, a new kind of developer, takes the cooperative housing model and adds an innovative twist. Learn about how Frolic started, its impact so far, and where it’s going next. 

Frolic was a 2023 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability Finalist for Finance. 

Released in Partnership with the Builder's Daily

Show Notes

TAMARA KNOX & JOSH MO...

Why can we easily find market-rate rentals through Zillow or Trulia but for affordable units, some families have to visit up to 24 different offices in-person? The Housing Navigator Massachusetts team is changing that. Hear how Jennifer Gilbert, Executive Director and founder, is bringing transparency, user experience design, and even beauty to the search for affordable housing. 

Housing Navigator MA was a 2023 Ivory Prize for Hous...

What role can AI play in real estate underwriting? How does that impact housing affordability? Learn about how Arx is empowering real estate professionals to instantly analyze entire markets to identify the best investment and development deals. You’ll hear from Tomas and Hernan Garcia, the platform’s co-founders, and their vision for how Arx will help boost housing supply by making the underwriting process for land and building pr...

How can innovative fund models increase generational wealth? In our inaugural episode, learn about how the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth got its name, how the fund started, and its impact on Black families in Colorado thus far.  

The Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth was the 2023 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability Winner in Finance.

Released in Partnership with the Builder's Daily

Episode Transcript

Show Notes

AISHA WEE...

Why can we book hotel rooms with a touch of a button on our phones, but case workers supporting people experiencing homelessness might need to call 8 or 10 shelters before finding an open bed? Hear how civic technology platform Outreach Grid is making it easier for service providers, case managers, homeless shelters, and other stakeholders to support better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. We discuss Tiffany’s journey...

How do zoning rules affect housing affordability? And what’s a developer, or housing professional, or urban planner to do when faced with 30,000 different zoning codes across thousands of municipalities across  the United States? Hear about the effort to digitize, demystify, and democratize those 30,000 different zoning codes with the National Zoning Atlas – the first-ever effort to compile this information at a national scale. We ...

What if a community land trust and a social impact fund got together and had a baby? Meet the Trust Neighborhoods mixed income neighborhood trust (MINT) model.  One of the limiting factors for community land trusts is their ability to raise capital – something which private funds often have in abundance. Learn about the innovative financing model behind Trust Neighborhoods’ MINT and how they help communities facing displacement rai...

How can we support the most vulnerable populations in our community when they experience homelessness? How might we help prevent  homelessness in the first place? Impact Justice’s Homecoming Project takes a popular idea – home sharing - and applies it to a non-traditional population – formerly incarcerated individuals exiting the justice system. Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the ge...

How can we help educators and essential  workers afford homes in the communities where they work? While some school districts are building housing for their teachers, new models such as shared appreciation down payment programs enable essential workers to buy homes by reducing the down payment savings barrier and increasing their buying power. Join us to hear from Alex Lofton at Landed, the first and only organization making these ...

What happens when banks don’t provide mortgages to  home buyers who are purchasing very inexpensive homes? How is this connected to historical discriminatory lending practices, like redlining? Alternative products like contracts for deed may look like traditional mortgages but function very differently and tend to be extremely predatory. With more than $200B of CFDs across the United States, John Green and the Blackstar Stability t...

How are rising interest rates affecting housing affordability? What can we learn from past housing cycles to predict what might happen next in the US market? In our inaugural episode, learn about how the Joint Center for Housing Studies got its name,  what history can teach us about today’s housing market, and how impact fees influence the construction of starter homes.

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies is one of Ivory I...