Everyone from the Biden administration to nonprofits to mortgage industry leaders is trying to close the homeownership gap between Black and white consumers, which is higher now than when the Fair Housing Act was passed to outlaw redlining in 1968.
Everyone from the Biden administration to nonprofits to mortgage industry leaders is trying to close the homeownership gap between Black and white consumers, which is higher now than when the Fair Housing Act was passed to outlaw redlining in 1968. An opinion piece we published today makes a case for the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which is part of the House's revised Build Back Better billpassed last week.
The authors, Rocket Mortgage President Bob Walters, National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders President and CEO Buzz Roberts, and National Fair Housing Alliance President and CEO Lisa Rice, outline the ways the Neighborhood Homes bill would help boost Black homeownership. The piece states:
"Neighborhood Homes is a practical solution for communities in which the cost of renovating or building a home exceeds its market value after the work is complete. This cost gap all too often prevents the renovation of affordable houses that need a great deal of work. The cost gap also thwarts construction and development of modest homes, limiting the availability of affordable homes for first-time and first-generation homebuyers."
The bill would cover that cost gap through a tax credit and look to develop or renovate 125,000 affordable homes in economically distressed communities. It seems to take a page from work Rocket did in Detroit through the Rehabbed & Ready program. That program was able to successfully expand homeownership and substantially stabilize home values in four target neighborhoods.
The bill's future in the Senate is uncertain, but we'll be keeping an eye out when Congress reconvenes after Thanksgiving.
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