As Wall Street implodes, consider investing in local housing
V.1, N.23
Last November, the NASDAQ was riding high near 16,000 points. Yesterday, May 11, 2022, it closed at 11,737, having lost more than 28% of its value thus far in 2022. With the Federal Reserve just beginning to raise interest rates to tame 8+% inflation, things could get a lot worse. Maybe it’s time to consider investing instead in local hard assets like housing.
Our lead story is how a dozen tenants in the Bronx were able to buy out a new landlord who was on the verge of raising their rents. With assistance from a nonprofit and the use of what’s called a “limited equity coop,” the tenants were able to buy out the 21-unit apartment building for $2,500 each. Imagine doing this a thousand times over?
In our “Spotlight” section – a new feature – we highlight four recent articles about Community Land Trusts (CLTs) across the country. CLTs are usually nonprofits that acquire properties, hold onto the land and then offer affordable housing opportunities through 100-year leases. Unlike Section 8 housing, CLTs provide real ownership opportunities to residents, especially people of color long locked out of fair housing.
These innovations do not yet provide easy ways for grassroots investors to participate, but this can and should change. Main Street Champions everywhere should knock on the doors of these housing initiatives and help create pathways for local investors to join in. Every dollar lent to a limited equity coop or CLT in your community can put your money to work in reducing homelessness and stabilizing neighborhoods.
If you are unsure who the Champions are in your communities, check out our list on TheMainStreetJournal.org . Or better still, become one.
– Michael Shuman, Publisher, The Main Street Journal
NEWS
Bronx Apartment Building Poised To Become A Housing Development Fund Corporation Co-op, The New York Times (May 7)
Kaiser Permanente Pushes For Employee Ownership, Project Equity (May 2)
Cooperative Businesses Host Celebratory Fair At Rhode Island State House, UPRISE RI (May 4)
SPOTLIGHT: COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS
How Community Land Trusts Can Advance Black Homeownership, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (April 27)
Community Land Trusts Make Housing Affordable, YES! Media (May 2)
A Multiethnic Community Land Trust In Boston’s Dudley Street Area, RioOnWatch (May 3)
Can Communities Be Better Landlords?, Quartz (May 5)
PARTNER VOICES
Market Report – Spring 2022, Natural Investments (April 14)
Community Alliance Project, Community-Vision Solutions (Spring 2022)
April is National Financial Literacy Month! Is That a Good Thing?, The Kassan Group (April 26)
EVENTS
Public Medications Policy Briefing – Webinar. Monday, May 16, 3pm ET. Learn from experts and advocates on the front lines of Public Meds about how your state can break Big Pharma monopolies, address shortages, and lower prices for your residents. Register here.
Social Justice Investing in Practice: Examples from the Field – Webinar. Thursday, May 26, 1pm ET. This webinar will provide a closer look at how three different groups are building investment infrastructure that fuels social justice, their challenges, opportunities, and plans for the future. Register here.
Total Impact Summit 2022: Investing For New Economies – In-Person Conference by ImpactPHL with SOCAP. May 16-17 at Convene Center City in Philadelphia. This two-day summit is for individual and institutional investors, fund managers, and financial advisors to learn about local and global innovations, discover investable solutions, deploy capital, and generate social impact. Register here and use code SHUMAN to take $300 of the current price.
Investing for a Just Future – Webinar. Wednesday, June 22, 1pm ET. This webinar will take an in-depth look at the barriers to making social justice investing accessible, and how Just Futures plans to create a model that does so. Register here.
ICYMI
Canada Embarks On Largest Investment In New Co-op Housing In 30 Years, Co-op News (April 21)
East Bay Activists Unveil New Blueprint For A Regional Public Bank, Next City (April 26)
Riding The Wave: Cooperative Conversion And The Silver Tsunami, Nonprofit Quarterly (April 27)
Common Future Announces Merger with Uncharted, PR Newswire (May 5)
JOBS BOARD
Project Equity is hiring a Summer Intern: Employee Ownership Policy.
Mission Driven Finance is hiring a Director of Portfolio Services and a Technology Manager.
BECOME A MAIN STREET CHAMPION
Have you always wanted to start a local investment club? A website of local investment offerings in your community? A local investment study group? Whatever your interest or ambition, we invite you to “go public” to help others in your region find you, scheme with you, and start a local investment movement in your community. Our goal is to identify dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Main Street Champions like you across America. We already have Main Street Champions across the U.S., from San Luis Obispo, CA to Providence, RI, and even Australia! Together, we can move our hard-earned savings from Wall Street back into our communities. Fill out the intake survey below to join this first cohort!
SOME OF The MSJ’s VINTAGE ISSUES
About The Main Street Journal
The Main Street Journal aims to catalyze the movement of $50 trillion from Wall Street to Main Street to facilitate economic development and economic justice. It’s sponsored by the National Coalition for Community Capital, with a grant from the Heron Foundation. We welcome feedback about everything, from our design to content. And we welcome suggestions of other groups to involve as partners, and other information to include. Please send ideas to Sophia Leswing at sophia@main-street-journal.com.
PARTNERS
We welcome any nonprofit or for-profit committed to local investment as a partner. If your organization is interested, please contact Sophia Leswing at sophia@main-street-journal.com.