3M Black Homeowners Initiative by 2030

 One of the greatest tools for generational wealth is homeownership.  It’s about time the “industry” addressed this disparity….Wenston DeSue

Program: Add 3M Black Homeowners by 2030

NAR is part of a new initiative – a 100-stakeholder coalition with a 7-step plan to boost the Black homeownership rate, which hit a 50-year low in 2019.

WASHINGTON – Black homeownership plunged to lows not seen in decades, reaching 42% in 2019 – the same level seen in 1970, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

A new initiative, called 3by30, hopes to change that by creating 3 million new Black homeowners by 2030, which would boost that 42% by more than 10 percentage points. It would also bring the Black homeownership rate to levels never previously attained.

The Black Homeownership Collaborative, a steering committee formed of several associations and companies – including the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), NAACP, Bank of America and others – created a seven-point action plan to achieve this goal.

“The legacy of discriminatory practices, as well as official government practices and longstanding harm, has left us with great disparities in wealth and opportunity,” says Bryan Greene, vice president of policy advocacy for NAR. “The goal with 3by30 is to recognize that [legacy of discrimination] and to try to figure out where we can begin to make more progress.”

Redlining, racially restrictive covenants, discrimination in appraisals and high denials for access to credit are some of the ways inequity has persisted in homeownership, the coalition says.

The seven-step plan is designed to add new homeowners and sustain existing homeowners. It calls for pre- and post-purchase counseling for borrowers who have been denied mortgage approvals and special-purpose credit programs. It also calls for a sustainable and targeted down payment assistance program and investments in affordable housing.

The seven-step plan

• Homeownership counseling
• Down payment assistance
• Housing production
• Credit and lending
• Civil and consumer rights
• Homeownership sustainability
• Marketing and outreach

“We do need to do something aggressive if we expect to create more homeownership opportunities in this country,” Greene says. “We have an interest in the housing industry, and I think society at large, to try to find ways to close these gaps, because our economy and our society benefit from more housing opportunities.”

Source: 3by30.org and “This New Initiative Is Aiming to Create 3 Million New Black Homeowners,” Apartment Therapy

Wenston DeSue is a realtor, organizational consultant, design, construct, build expert and developmental networker.  Real estate is the business of exchange and affects every person on the planet.  Real estate on all levels represents resources, access, purpose and often times, power.  These articles represent aspects that affect the business of real estate.