Microsoft recently revealed it's pledging $500 million for affordable housing in the Seattle, Wash. area. The company will commit $25 million in grants and subsidies to address homelessness, $250 million to low-income housing developers, and $225 million in below-market rates to workforce housing developers. Microsoft will continue making more loans as the money is repaid.
The affordable housing crunch is bringing out innovators trying to come up with solutions. In many larger U.S. cities, local problems are magnified, so it's beneficial to look at what others are doing to come up with solutions. Housing trust-type scenarios such as this stand out as being very promising.