In a survey done by Charles Durrett (who first coined the phrase "co-housing"), he concluded that people felt like they were saving $200 to $2400 a month by living in cohousing and below, we answer exactly how co-housing can be so affordable.

USE OF COMMON SPACES: With more focus on creating shared flex spaces, families are invited to relax, cook, and eat together. In doing so, individual utility and grocery bills are reduced by splitting amongst the household.

RELIANCE ON SELF MANAGEMENT: Co-housing complexes rarely hire a building manager and saves on maintenance fees by heavily relying on the residents' collective efforts to maintain the property. Since each individual has a personal stake in the housing community, the collective time dedicated to caring for the property is greater while individual responsibilities are reduced. With reinforcement by a community living agreement, repairs are taken care of, the outdoors are kept clean, and the common spaces functional for long-term use.

SHARED RESOURCES & SKILLS: Co-housing fosters a type of mutual aid network within and between households. During their daily interactions, people share their experiences and resources to neighbors in need. A sink is leaking? Chances are someone in the house knows how to work with tools. Need gardening advice? Luckily there's someone down the hall with a green thumb. Together, residents find their cost of living is reduced with the help of neighbors.

There are already three thriving co-housing communities in Ann Arbor, with only very few open units at any time. Yet, these units are majority owner-occupied and thus unresponsive to the demographics of unaffordability in Ann Arbor (54.2% of households are rent-occupied, with the majority low-income). Neighborhood Ecology is both an answer to popular demands while reaching underserved markets.

Background: With the Area Median Income (AMI) for a family of four rising to $117,800/yr and individuals $82,500/yr, affordable housing in Ann Arbor is now targeted towards families with an income of $70,680/yr and individuals $49,500/yr.¹ This also led subsidized house rent limits to rise to $1,591/month and $1,326/month for families and individuals respectively, resulting in fewer households being served as the baseline for affordable rent keeps increasing. On the other hand, the average market rent rates (30% of current AMI) are $2,245/month for families of four and $1,865/month for one bedroom apartments within Ann Arbor.

Rent assumptions: To calculate unit rents, we used the average rental price per square foot for comparable housing in Ann Arbor, an estimated $2.12/sf.² We then figured in 1% for maintenance and utility fees and a 3.1% expected vacancy rate, while taking into consideration the various cost-savings mechanisms of co-housing for the market rates. We calculated affordable rates using 2022 subsidized house rent limits for families and the Inter-Cooperative Council's cost-breakdown for individual rates in Ann Arbor.