Community Home Trust

What Community Home Trust does

Community Home Trust (CHT), founded in 1991 and headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affordable housing organization (EIN 56-2141179) that operates a Community Land Trust (CLT) to deliver permanently affordable homeownership and rental housing in the high-cost Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County market. CHT's core product is a Home Buying Program that sells townhomes, condominiums, and single-family homes at 30-50% below market value to income-qualified buyers, segmented into AMI-based tiers (under 80% AMI and over 80% AMI). Homes are delivered through a portfolio of approximately 10 development communities (Summit at Homestead, Stanat Place, Bridgepoint, Rosemary Place, Greenway, Vineyard Square, Larkspur, Ballentine, Greenbridge, Claremont) with a forward pipeline including Tanyard Branch Trace and Homestead Gardens. A secondary offering, The Landings, provides rental housing with tenant advocacy support. Supporting services include the Stewardship Program, Capital Improvement Incentive Program, and Dowling Home Maintenance Fund, all designed to sustain homeownership over the long term.

CHT's underlying technology is the CLT legal architecture itself rather than a software product: a ground-lease structure that retains the land while the buyer owns the home, with resale formulas that lock in affordability across all future transactions. Operational technology is built on commodity SaaS - Salesforce for CRM, Form Assembly for applications, Give Lively for donations, and Dropbox for document storage - with no proprietary technology, patents, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed. CHT generates revenue from a mix of one-time home sales (listing prices range from $125,000 to $298,000), recurring monthly stewardship fees (typically $57-$160 per homeowner), monthly HOA dues ($45-$182), and donations. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through an application-based process with eligibility verification, required information sessions, and in-person neighborhood tours. CHT goes to market with no headcount beyond 11-50 employees, relying on deep municipal and financial-institution partnerships (Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro, Orange County, Town of Hillsborough, First Citizens Bank, Coastal Credit Union Foundation, Bank of America, Triangle Community Foundation, SECU Foundation, and homebuilder TriPointe Homes) to source land, subsidies, mortgage products, and operating support.

Name

Community Home Trust

Legal name

Community Home Trust

Website

https://communityhometrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Home Trust is a Chapel Hill, NC-based nonprofit operating a Community Land Trust that sells permanently affordable homes at 30-50% below market value to income-qualified buyers in the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County markets of North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affordable Housing / Community Land Trust Services

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Affordable housing
• Community land trust
• Below market housing
• Homeownership programs
• Rental housing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Home Sales: CHT sells homes at 30-50% below market value to qualified buyers. Homes include townhomes, condos, and single-family homes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.
2. Stewardship Fees: Monthly stewardship fees charged to homeowners for ongoing support services, community maintenance, and program administration.
3. HOA Dues: Monthly HOA dues collected from homeowners in various communities for maintenance and community amenities.
4. Donations and Fundraising: The organization accepts donations to support development and maintenance of affordable housing opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Community Home Trust is a nonprofit Community Land Trust that sells income-restricted townhomes, condos, and single-family homes at 30–50% below market value to qualified buyers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC, while embedding permanent affordability restrictions through resale restrictions on the land. It also operates a rental housing program (The Landings) and provides ongoing homeowner stewardship, capital improvement incentives, and home maintenance assistance to support long-term affordable homeownership.

Product overview

Community Home Trust is a nonprofit affordable housing organization offering a single integrated platform of housing products and services. The core offering includes a Home Buying Program for affordable homeownership and The Landings for rental housing. The Home Buying Program enables qualified buyers to purchase homes at 30-50% below market value across various development communities including Summit at Homestead, Stanat Place, Bridgepoint, Rosemary Place, Greenway, Vineyard Square, Larkspur, Ballentine, Greenbridge, and Claremont. Supporting services include the Stewardship Program, Capital Improvement Incentive Program, and Dowling Home Maintenance Fund. Properties range from single-family homes to townhomes and condominiums, primarily located in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and surrounding Orange County, NC areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Home Buying Program Core affordable homeownership program selling townhomes, condos, and single-family homes at 30-50% below market value to income-qualified buyers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC, with AMI-based eligibility tiers (under 80% and over 80% AMI).
• The Landings (Rental Housing) Rental housing program offering apartments in Chapel Hill/Carrboro-area communities with a Tenant Advocacy Committee (TAC) and on-request rental maintenance support.
• Stewardship Program Ongoing post-purchase support program for CHT homeowners providing approved vendor lists, refinancing guidelines, resale process guidance, and general homeownership resources to support long-term success.
• Capital Improvement Incentive Program Incentive program that encourages and supports CHT homeowners in making capital improvements to their homes, helping preserve property quality and long-term affordability.
• Dowling Home Maintenance Fund Financial assistance fund providing CHT homeowners with resources to address home maintenance needs and reduce the risk of deferred maintenance.
• Summit at Homestead New 17-home townhome community in Chapel Hill built by TriPointe Homes, featuring 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom homes of approximately 1,615 square feet each, sold through the CHT Home Buying Program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Homes sell 30-50% below market value
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Town of Chapel HillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnership supporting affordable housing development in Chapel Hill. Town provides funding, land access, and regulatory support for CHT housing projects.
• Town of CarrborocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnership supporting affordable housing development in Carrboro. Town collaborates on housing policy and provides resources for CHT projects.
• Orange County NCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty-level partnership supporting affordable housing across Orange County. County provides funding and policy support for CHT programs.
• Town of HillsboroughminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partnership supporting affordable housing development in Hillsborough area.
• Strowd RosesminorOthersLocal partner organization supporting CHT's community programs and initiatives.
• Love Chapel HillminorOthersLocal community organization partnering with CHT on affordable housing and community development.
• Piedmont Electric CooperativeminorOthersLocal utility cooperative supporting CHT through community investment and partnerships.
• Graduate HotelminorOthersLocal business partner supporting CHT events and programs.
• TriPointe HomescoreTechnology or IntegrationHome builder partner constructing CHT's Summit at Homestead community (17 homes in Chapel Hill). Builder develops homes to CHT specifications for affordable sale.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Burlington Community Land Trust: Vermont-based CLT pioneering the shared-equity, permanently affordable homeownership model that CHT employs. Closest conceptual peer in CLT operating practice.
• Champlain Housing Trust: Burlington, VT-based CLT, one of the largest in the US, operating both homeownership and rental housing programs under the CLT structure—directly analogous to CHT's Home Buying Program plus The Landings.
• Habitat for Humanity Orange County NC: Local Habitat affiliate serving the same Chapel Hill/Orange County geography with affordable homeownership for income-qualified buyers—comparable buyer base and mission.
• Durham Community Land Trustees: Durham, NC-based Community Land Trust operating the same CLT model with permanent affordability resale restrictions in the neighboring Research Triangle market. Highly comparable structure, geography, and mission.

Others

• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit investor and developer in affordable housing; comparable affordable housing development activity with much broader geographic reach and capital deployment.
• Grounded Solutions Network: National membership network supporting CLTs and shared-equity housing organizations; not a direct operator but shapes CHT's policy environment, funding access, and peer learning.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution (CDFI) funding affordable housing and CLTs. Provides debt/grant capital that influences CHT's operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: National affordable homeownership nonprofit operating at much larger scale through local affiliates; provides a reference point for affordable housing production capacity but uses a different (non-CLT) affordability model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4UbUCwPiXA2PtNQD4ZJkOA
• Facebookfacebook.com/communityhometrust
• Xx.com/HomeTrustNC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Home Trust