A new collaboration between industry and advocacy groups is determined to have three million net new Black homeowners by the year 2030.

They announced their formation on the Friday before Juneteenth, a day many businesses closed in recognition of the new Federal Holiday, at a press conference in Cleveland that featured Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

The new group, known as the Black Homeownership Collaborative (BHC), unveiled their new website (3by30.org) as well as a seven-point plan to accomplish this ambitious goal.

The genesis for the creation of this collaborative is that even today, 53 years after the signing of the Fair Housing Act, the Black Homeownership rate has reached levels not seen since housing segregation was legal in the United States.

When the housing market crashed in 2008, it created an era known as the Great Recession. In the decade since the end of that recession, Black homeownership has continued to decrease, while groups in other demographics have each seen a substantial recovery.

There are myriad reasons for this, including systemic racism and a continued lack of affordable housing in the country. Federal law suppressed homeownership among people of color which piled on top of more traditional hurdles facing first generation homebuyers – such as an inability to afford a down payment on the purchase of a home – and created the homeownership gap that exists today.

According to the Federal Reserve Board, less than 20% of Blacks under the age of 35 own a home, a paltry number when compared with whites in the same demographic (41%). And while the gap closes in a little bit in the next age group (50% of Blacks aged 35-54 own a home compared to 70% of whites), five million additional Black homeowners would be needed to be on par with white homeowners.

According to the Urban Institute, if structural barriers aren’t addressed, by 2040 the Black homeownership rate will continue to fall, particularly for households in the 45-74 age demographic.

“The persistent gap in homeownership rates among Black and white Americans illustrates how racial inequality in our society translates into wealth inequality,” said Bryan Greene, vice president of policy advocacy at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and a member of the BHC steering committee. “NAR is pleased to join this dedicated group of widely-respected organizations in the Black Homeownership Collaborative to pursue our shared goals.

“We look forward to continuing our work to secure federal and local-level policies which will raise Black homeownership levels, strengthen communities, and improve the American economy.”

The plan, set forth by the BHC, listed seven realistic steps that can make it possible to increase Black Homeownership by the target of 3 million net new homeowners by 2030.

These recommendations were put together by more than 100 housing leaders in both the industry and among housing advocacy groups over the past two years, including NAR.

They include:

• Homeownership counselling – This includes pre-purchase counseling, counselling borrowers who have been denied mortgage approval to turn a “no” into a “not yet”, and post-purchase counselling to sustain homeownership. This would also require additional funding for housing counselling agencies which, according to the BHC, are significantly underfunded.
• Down payment assistance – The legacy of historic denial of homeownership means that Black Americans are less likely to be able to rely on a loan from a family member or sale of an existing home to assist with down payment costs. Research from NAR has found that while almost four out of 10 white Americans – 37% – used the funds from the sale of their primary residence to serve as a down payment for a home, only 21% of Hispanic, 18% of Asian and 17% of Black Americans were able to do so. Black Americans and Hispanic Americans – 15% and 10% – were three and two times more likely, respectively, than white and Asian Americans – 5% each – to tap into their 401(k) or pension funds as a down payment source for a home purchase. As such, a sustainable and targeted down payment assistance program is needed.
• Housing Production – While housing supply shortages are a major problem across the country, the biggest area of need for housing is for lower -priced or entry-level priced homes that are affordable for first-time homebuyers or those re-entering the homebuying market after a hiatus. Local zoning restrictions, expensive permits, increased cost of lumber, and other price increases have led to a slowdown in production. Economic interventions in distressed communities, land use reforms, and public investment are needed to develop or rehabilitate more affordable homes.
• Credit and Lending – Black homebuyers have consistently struggled to build the credit necessary or be provided with the right loans to afford the purchase of a home as well as a monthly mortgage payment. Innovative mortgage credit scoring and mortgage products are essential for a successful strategy to get people the credit and lending they need. Not everyone is ready to own a home right away, but credit evaluators need to do a better job so they can refer those denied the necessary credit to housing counselors who can get them ready to buy in a short period of time. Additionally, mortgage products need to target populations that have not only been historically underserved by the mortgage finance system, they have been specifically excluded. Addressing these inequities requires direct interventions like special purpose credit programs (SPCP) and specified pools for mortgage securitization.
• Civil and Consumer Rights – Today’s homeownership gap was created by a dark legacy of credit access denials and lending discrimination to Black households and communities, which prevented them from building equity, and in turn, wealth. The federal government must ensure it enforces fair housing and consumer protection laws to prevent present-day discrimination from eroding what wealth Black Americans already possess.
• Homeownership Sustainability – According to the Urban Institute, Black homeowners have shorter spans of homeownership than white homeowners. While a lot of attention has been given to helping renters become homeowners, not as much has been paid to helping homeowners stay homeowners. According to the BHC, early intervention, ex-ante counseling, and COVID-19 related homeownership assistance are essential components of sustaining homeownership.
• Marketing and Outreach –According to Freddie Mac, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic there were at least three million Black households identified as mortgage-ready and more than two million were able to meet income requirements but didn’t have the requisite credit history for home loan requirements. As a result, it’s going to require strong marketing and outreach to let these households know they can become homeowners and start accruing equity and household wealth. According to the BHC, many factors contribute to the need for a sustained and targeted marketing push: the impact of mass foreclosures and predatory equity-stripping schemes in communities of color during the Great Recession; the multigenerational impact of racism on attitudes about the meaning of “the American Dream;” a lack of informed parental support and guidance available to first-generation homebuyers; and significantly higher levels of student debt despite high incomes.

The BHC believes that if their seven-step plan is followed, that the ambitious goal of three million new net Black homeowners by the end of the decade is both a realistic and exciting possibility.

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