KEEPING TEACHERS IN TOWN: The influx of employees from Facebook and their technology brethren to the San Francisco Bay Area has driven exorbitant increases in housing prices. So perhaps it’s only fitting that the $45 billion investment company tied to the social network’s power couple is giving—a little—back.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced it will contribute $5 million into a fund operated by Landed, a startup that helps teachers pay down payments on homes in the Redwood City, Ravenswood City, and Sequoia Union High School districts in the peninsula region.
Landed, founded in 2015, will pay half of a teacher’s down payment for a home. A typical down payment is 20 percent, so Landed will typically cover 10 percent. Teachers do not have to pay back this loan. Rather, the company takes 25 percent of the gain or loss when the house gets sold again. (If the teacher never sells, he or she will have to repay Landed before the end of the investment term.)
According to Zillow, median home values in Redwood City and East Palo Alto, where the three school districts are located, are $1.3 million and $756,000, respectively. A rough calculation suggests that the $5 million from CZI could help roughly 50 teachers with their down payments.
It’s telling of the times when $5 million may not be enough to buy five houses.
