Maricopa County, El Mirage partner to make 5 homes more affordable

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and city of El Mirage approved an agreement to make a handful of homes in the city more affordable.

El Mirage is just west of the Agua Fria River, between Sun City and Surprise.

In this agreement, El Mirage will give $1 million from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan funding to Maricopa County. The county will then use that money to buy and renovate five single-family homes.

Those homes will be sold to eligible buyers who earn 120% or below the area median income, which is $112,200 for a family of four.

“I am proud of Maricopa County’s partnership with El Mirage to increase the supply of affordable housing in this community,” said Supervisor Clint Hickman in a press release.

In order to maintain the long-term affordability of the homes, buyers will only purchase the house, and not the land. The developer leases the land to the homeowner at low cost.

If a buyer wants to sell the house, it’ll be sold back to the developer for the purchase price plus 25% of the increased value.

That means the seller can still make some money off the sale while the price remains affordable for the next buyer, who will also have to meet income requirements.

For more information on affordable housing in Maricopa County, check out maricopa.gov/housing.