Fuller Center for Greater Atlanta: Homes for Working Families
Fuller Center for Housing of Greater Atlanta: Building Homes for the People Every Community Depends On, with Mark Murphy (Good2Give Podcast, Episode 21)
In this episode of the Good2Give Podcast, host DePriest Waddy talks with Mark Murphy, president of the Fuller Center for Housing of Greater Atlanta, about what it actually takes to put a home within reach of the people most communities depend on but rarely think about housing: school bus drivers, teacher’s aides, lunch workers, and nurse’s aides. Also joining the conversation is Norma Marquez, Director of Development at the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia.
Murphy makes the affordability gap concrete. The average age of a first-time homebuyer in the mid-1980s was 27. Today it is 41. First-time buyers now account for only 21% of home purchases, down from 40%. The Fuller Center’s response is not a first-time buyer program. It is, as Murphy puts it, an ever-time buyer program for families who would not be able to own a home under any conventional financing scenario. Qualifying families earn between 50% and 80% of the area median income, must have minor children at home, and commit to 350 hours of sweat equity in place of a down payment. In return, they receive a zero-interest loan on a new three-bedroom, two-bath home, with a $100,000 forgivable second mortgage built into the structure. The organization is also zoning a 6.2-acre parcel in Cherokee County for an 18-home development, with groundbreaking targeted for early 2027.
The episode also covers the Fuller Center’s Greater Blessings program, which provides critical home repairs for elderly and disabled homeowners aging in place, and the organization’s recent decision to open an agency fund with CFNEG to manage its long-term reserves.
The Good2Give Podcast is presented by the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia. John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX, produce the show. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link.
Key Takeaways from this Episode
The average age of a first-time homebuyer has risen from 27 in the mid-1980s to 41 today, and the share of homes purchased by first-time buyers has dropped from 40% to 21%. The numbers tell the story before anyone makes an argument.
The Fuller Center is not a first-time buyer program. It serves families who would not qualify for a conventional mortgage at any interest rate, focusing on what Murphy calls the hidden heroes of the community: the janitors, bus drivers, teacher’s aides, and nurse’s aides who keep communities running but cannot afford to live in them.
Qualifying families earn between 50% and 80% of area median income and contribute 350 hours of sweat equity in place of a down payment. They receive a zero-interest loan on a new home priced around $250,000 after a forgivable $100,000 second mortgage is factored in.
The Fuller Center’s Greater Blessings program addresses a separate and equally urgent need: home repairs for elderly and disabled homeowners who need wheelchair ramps, grab bars, and bathroom modifications to remain in their homes as they age.
Land is the hardest part. By the time a parcel reaches the market, it is priced beyond what any affordable housing model can absorb. The Fuller Center depends on city and county partnerships to access publicly held land and is currently zoning a 6.2-acre site in Cherokee County for 18 homes, with groundbreaking targeted for early 2027.
The NIMBY (not in my backyard) resistance to affordable housing often comes from fear about who might move in. Murphy’s counter is to reframe the conversation around the specific people a community already knows and relies on, rather than abstractions about housing categories.