CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – It’s a project we’ve seen before: local housing groups buying properties to keep housing affordable. Howard Hanna broker and WINA Real Estate Matters host Michael Guthrie says Charlottesville is becoming a leader in this approach, with Habitat for Humanity potentially leading the purchase of Carlton Mobile Home Park. “Habitat is stepping up to make a counteroffer,” Guthrie said, referring to the $7 million bid for Carlton Mobile Home Park. He emphasized the importance of such initiatives to keep housing affordable, noting that successful redevelopments like Sunrise and the large Southwood project have strengthened and diversified communities without displacing people.

Guthrie highlighted the significant impact of these projects, saying, “Sunrise was a success, and Southwood looks like it’s going to be a success.” He explained that the key to these accomplishments is the collaborative effort among various organizations. “Charlottesville is becoming a national model for these efforts,” Guthrie said. He pointed out that this success is due to teamwork with organizations like Piedmont Housing Alliance, Community Land Trust, and the CAAR Foundation, which are generating revenue for projects like this.

The potential purchase of Carlton Mobile Home Park is seen as a continuation of this trend. Guthrie mentioned that such projects require careful planning and phased implementation to avoid displacing current residents. He suggested that the timeline for the Carlton project could span up to five years, allowing for the gradual development of infrastructure and housing.

Guthrie stressed the importance of creating diverse communities where market-rate housing and affordable housing coexist, enriching the community as a whole. He cited the collaboration with other organizations as crucial in ensuring that properties can be purchased with the goal of affordable housing rather than profit. “The only way that we have things that become affordable is that people step up to buy things with affordable housing as its outcome versus a profit return,” he said.

In addition to discussing the Carlton project, Guthrie touched on broader real estate trends in the Charlottesville area. He noted that while interest rates are beginning to trend down slightly, the demand for housing remains high, driven by local startups and the biomedical sector. This ongoing demand underscores the importance of affordable housing initiatives like those led by Habitat for Humanity.

For more details, listen to the full interview on [WINA Morning News](https://sagacommunications-my.sharepoint.com/personal/jpiermarini_charlottesvilleradiogroup_com/Documents/Transcribed%20Files/wina-morning-news__luke-neer-talks-with-howa.mp3).