Amazon Invests $40 Million to Help Moderate-Income Families Buy Homes

Amazon has launched a new pilot initiative in collaboration with the National Housing Trust (NHT), a nonprofit group, to increase homeownership opportunities for underserved communities.

With an investment of $40 million, Amazon aims to assist moderate-income individuals and families in purchasing homes in Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Washington state, the organizations said in a Wednesday (Sept. 13) press release.

The initiative is part of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund (HEF), which has already contributed to the creation or preservation of over 14,000 homes with affordable rents in three communities, according to the release. This marks the HEF’s first venture into homeownership, expanding its efforts beyond rental properties. 

The NHT will use the funds to acquire and construct affordable homes for sale, working with local organizations, the release said. The program aims to provide homeownership access to up to 800 individuals and families, with a focus on historically underserved residents. 

“This new initiative will allow us to explore ways to help more moderate-income residents realize their dreams of homeownership and, in turn, help build wealth that they can pass on to the next generation,” Senthil Sankaran, managing principal at the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, said.

To ensure affordability, the initiative will support innovative homeownership models, including community land trusts, per the release. This approach separates the cost of land from the overall home price, helping maintain affordability and stability within communities. 

“This partnership is unique because Amazon’s support will enable us to create new, innovative pathways to ownership that will transform people’s lives,” Priya Jayachandran, CEO of the National Housing Trust, said in the release.

Since its establishment, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund has committed over $1.7 billion to address housing affordability challenges, according to the press release. The fund primarily focuses on low-to-moderate income individuals and families.

Amazon launched the fund in January 2021, saying it would offer “below-market loans and grants to housing partners, traditional and non-traditional public agencies, and minority-led organizations.”

It initially aimed to preserve and create 20,000 affordable housing units in Arlington, Virginia; Nashville, Tennessee; and the Puget Sound region of Washington state — areas in which the retailer expected to have more than 5,000 employees.