University renews Yale Homebuyer Program for another two years

The Yale Homebuyer Program, one of the most prominent and longstanding parts of the university’s community investment in its hometown, New Haven, has been renewed for another two years.

Begun in 1994, the Yale Homebuyer Program gives permanent Yale University employees working 20 or hours or more a week a substantial income benefit if they purchase a home to own and occupy in designated areas in the city.

The program provides up to a $30,000 total benefit to participants: a $5,000 first-year bonus and an annual $2,500 grant for up to 10 years to university faculty and staff as long as they continue to own and live in the home and remain employed by Yale.

As of this fall, 1,134 Yale faculty and staff have benefited from the program since its inception two decades ago. They have purchased homes with a total market value at time of purchase of more than $205 million and have benefited from a total commitment from Yale of more than $28 million to the program since 1994.

The program operates in two-year phases to allow for ongoing assessment of its impact. Recognizing the continued value of the program to promoting strong neighborhoods, the university’s trustees voted at their most recent regular meeting on Dec. 4 to renew it for another two-year phase through Dec. 31, 2017. 

The homebuyer program has proven popular among all types of university employees. Since its inception, 29% of homebuyers have been faculty, 31% clerical and technical staff, 13% service and maintenance staff, and 27% management and professional staff. As in previous years, all of the neighborhoods covered in the program — Beaver Hills, Dixwell, Dwight, East Rock, the Hill, Newhallville, and West Rock — continued to attract Yale homebuyers during the most recent two-year phase.

“Yale is deeply committed to New Haven,” noted President Peter Salovey. “The homebuyer program has proven to be an effective way for the university to invest in our outstanding faculty and staff and support city neighborhoods. I look forward to more of our colleagues becoming New Haven homeowners and citizens in the years ahead.”

To learn more about the university’s comprehensive engagement with New Haven, visit the Office of New Haven and State Affairs website. There you will find information about Yale’s work to promote economic growth, public schools and youth, strong neighborhoods, and a vital downtown.