Housing and Civil Rights Leaders Announce a National Initiative to Increase Black Homeownership

A plan to significantly increase the Black homeownership rate was announced last week by the Black Homeownership Collaborative, a new coalition of more than 100 organizations and individuals, committed to creating 3 million net new Black homeowners by 2030.

The group unveiled the “3by30” initiative at an event in Cleveland that featured remarks by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).

According to the Urban Institute, the Black homeownership rate in the U.S. currently stands at 42.3%. The national homeownership rate is 64.1%, while the rate for whites stands at 72.2%. Left unaddressed, the Black homeownership rate will fall even further by 2040, Urban Institute projects.

The Black Homeownership Collaborative identified seven areas requiring attention to make its goal possible within nine years: 1) homeownership counseling; 2) down payment assistance; 3) housing production; 4) credit and lending; 5) civil and consumer rights; 6) homeownership sustainability and 7) marketing and outreach. Among the actions called for by the group are increased funding for housing counseling services, a targeted down payment assistance program and restoration of all legal doctrines and provisions of law that address systemic discriminatory policies.

The Black Homeownership Collaborative is led by a steering committee of executives from the Mortgage Bankers Association, NAACP, National Association of Realtors®, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Housing Conference, National Urban League and Urban Institute.

“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 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.”

“With the current Black homeownership rate being lower than when housing discrimination was legal in our country, a bold and collective effort is needed to rectify this national tragedy,” said David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference. “The 7-point plan of the 3×30 initiative marks a monumental step in doing this, and NHC is proud to help co-lead a broad group of housing and civil rights organizations who are committed to moving our nation forward on closing the racial homeownership gap.”

“The NAACP is encouraged by the development of this 7-point plan,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. “Successful implementation would increase Black homeownership by 3 million new homeowners, aligned to the NAACP’s continued commitment to decreasing the racial wealth gap.”

“Homeownership is an indispensable wealth-building tool and is inextricably linked to an abundance of opportunities,” said Lisa Rice, president and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “As the Alliance embarks on our Keys Unlock Dreams Initiative to increase homeownership among communities of color,