NAR is working with a 100-organization group to boost Black homeownership – 3M more by 2030. The coalition’s “3by30 initiative” includes a 7-point plan. NAR VP Bryan Greene says Realtors will keep working to improve federal and local policies that help raise ownership levels.
CLEVELAND – A group of housing and civil rights leaders announced a multi-year initiative to increase the nation’s Black homeownership rate. The Black Homeownership Collaborative, a new coalition of more than 100 organizations and individuals, including the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), launched a commitment to create 3 million net new Black homeowners by 2030 through a 7-point plan.
The group unveiled its “3by30” initiative at an event held at Cleveland State University.
According to Urban Institute, the Black homeownership rate in the U.S. currently stands at 42.3%, while the national homeownership rate is 64.1%, and the white homeownership rate is 72.2%. Left unaddressed, the Black homeownership rate will fall even further by 2040, the Urban Institute projects.
The Black Homeownership Collaborative identified seven areas requiring attention to make it its goal possible within nine years:
- Homeownership counseling
- Down payment assistance
- Housing production
- Credit and lending
- Civil and consumer rights
- Homeownership sustainability
- Marketing and outreach
The coalition highlights a need for housing counseling services, targeted down payment assistance and restoration of legal doctrines and law provisions that address systemic discriminatory policies.
The Black Homeownership Collaborative is led by a steering committee of executives from:
- Mortgage Bankers Association
- NAACP
- National Association of Realtors
- National Association of Real Estate Brokers
- National Fair Housing Alliance
- National Housing Conference
- National Urban League
- Urban Institute.
“The persistent gap in homeownership rates among Black and white Americans illustrates how racial inequality in our society translates into wealth inequality,” says Bryan Greene, vice president of policy advocacy at NAR. “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 Black Homeownership Collaborative’s 7-point plan mirrors the goals the National Association of Real Estate Brokers has been advancing since our inception in 1947,” adds Lydia Pope, president-elect of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. “Expanding sustainable homeownership opportunities for Black Americans by eliminating disparate systemic barriers, increasing housing counseling services, and purging biased real estate industry practices represent the elements of a wealth building strategy destined for achievable success.”
Pope says the “3by30” initiative “requires the long-term commitment by Coalition members, committed government officials, fair-minded real estate professionals, and an even-handed financial services industry to close the racial wealth gap that serves to raise the economic futures of Black Americans.”
For information on how the Black Homeownership Collaborative arrived at the 3 million net new homeowner goal, visit the Urban Institute’s website.
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Author: kerrys