Last week, I wrote about how the need for housing assistance in the country has grown so great that an angry, desperate mob of 30,000 recently gathered at a public housing office in Georgia. This week, I have a more positive housing story for you: A program in New York City is allowing some low-income people to buy apartments for as little as $250.

There are no typos in that sentence; I really did mean to say "buy," not rent, and I didn't leave off any 0s. But, let's just say there are some buts, which I'll get to in a minute.