Wellfleet Housing In The News
'We've got to stem the bleeding': Addressing the Outer Cape’s housing crisis
Wellfleet and other towns on the Outer Cape have struggled to hire and retain essential service workers.
What happens when an idyllic seaside town prices out those who keep it running?
“A coffee shop is nice to have. But a fireman or a policeman … we are a community where the average age is well advanced compared to the state as a whole,” said Wellfleet resident Gary Sorkin. “So just someone to take care of you, so whether it’s a home health aide … in all the ways that older folks get taken care of. Those resources are becoming more and more scarce.”
Buy Down Pairs Generous Seller With Grateful Buyer
Wellfleet’s 12-year effort has yielded 9 hard-won sales
By Lee Kahrs Feb 16, 2022
WELLFLEET — Nancy Lange wanted to sell her vacation house in Wellfleet to a local family instead of to the highest bidder.
So, she agreed to sell her three-bedroom, one-bath house at 29 Buck St. through Wellfleet’s buy down program as a deed-restricted affordable home for $464,200 — the highest price allowed under the program’s regulations for a three-bedroom.
Lange could certainly have gotten more for the house, which she bought in 1999 for $195,000 and which is currently assessed at $450,800. The buyer, Meghan Cox, received $175,000 from the town towards the purchase, reducing the price to $289,200. Cox qualified under the program’s income and asset limits for recipients.
It’s only the ninth home sale in Wellfleet’s buy down program, which began in 2010 to help low- and middle-income families buy homes. Because the houses are deed-restricted, they incrementally increase the town’s affordable housing stock.