HUD announced yesterday that it would give grants to nonprofit agencies that help low-income families buy, build, or rehab new homes. In exchange for grants averaging $15,000 per dwelling, each homeowner has to volunteer 100 hours in work on the home. The idea, called sweat equity, is one that Habitat for Humanity, one of the recipients, has implemented for a long time. Relying in part on volunteer labor is a real way to make housing more affordable. That, plus the federal grants that go directly toward housing, is obviously a better way to ensure families can afford to buy homes than relying solely on mortgage lenders to do so. It certainly won't solve the problem of low-income housing, but it can help. -- Monica Potts
