Nyland Cohousing

A glance at a detailed map of U.S. cohousing communities would show that most of us are living in areas of relatively high property values: on the coasts, in college towns or on the outskirts of high-tech growth centers. That’s one reason why making cohousing affordable to the widest possible number of people has been of intense interest to prospective community members throughout the history of the cohousing movement.

Cohousing has matured in many respects since it immigrated to the U.S., but none so much as the development structures or the financial savvy of cohousers themselves. Since future residents expect to be involved in the design of the future neighborhood, the instruments for conventionally financed development don’t always work in the same way. Consequently, in the process of learning about real estate development and financing, cohousers are reinventing them.

Like a flame draws a moth, cohousing attracts a certain type of house builder. Somewhere in the back of our minds we think we can save the world, our country or at least our hometown from environmental and social degradation through the quality of the housing - and communities - we create. This challenge keeps many of us going in an industry full of political adversity and economic risk.