Blog

People are always asking for help these days…but I am not asking for myself.

I NEED TO REACH PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT WOULD LIKE TO OWN THEIR OWN HOME.
Yes, even if it is not today or even the next 2 years. HERE’S WHY!

I am a member of NAREB, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. Our organization has been around since 1947 with the mission of “Democracy in Housing”. NAREB’s goal is to fight for the rights of African American Homeowners. Here is a link to a video about the history of NAREB. https://youtu.be/BtHR2J3xwD8 We know that home ownership for people of color has always been a challenge because of many obstacles some our own, which are not uncommon to all races, but most obstacles have been systematically engineered to keep people of color from home ownership.

In order to bridge this gap, NAREB has implimented the 2Mn5 (Two Million in 5 years) initiative, to increase minority homeownership by 2 million in 5 years. According to the 2018 SHIBA report, the percentage of homeownership for minorities is approximately 42 percent, while the rest of the population is at a 72 percent ownership rate. That is a 30 percent gap in home ownership. Two major areas that NAREB is addressing in relation to the SHIBA report are Income and Student Loans.

Based upon NAR’s data, the median income of Black homebuyers was $82,140, while the median for white buyers was $91,820, a difference of 10.5 percent. Hispanic buyers fared a bit better with 4.5 percent lower than white buyers. These differences can make it harder to save for a down payment and in many cases require Black and Hispanic buyers to purchase lower-priced homes. And because Black and Hispanic buyers tend to be first time home buyers, they are in a very competitive pool as they are also competing with Babyboomers that are downsizing.

Student Debt is another hurdle that can seem crippling when trying to navigate the waters to get to home ownership. Forty-Three percent of Black homebuyers had student debt, compared with only 25 percent for Hispanics and 23 percent for whites, according to NAR. The median amount was $39,000, or 50 percent more than the median amount among whites, and 95 percent higher than the total debt for Hispanics.

This leads into more credit woes as Black and Hispanic buyers were also more likely to be rejected by a mortgage lender than white borrowers.

These are just a few of the issues that we are working to combat.
But HOW? We are starting with educating Buyers through Homebuyer Workshops. These workshops are designed to help get buyers prepared and ready for the pre-homebuying process. Tackling how to deal with student loan debt, what expenses to save for, the big picture on credit and information about grants to help with down payment assistance and closing costs.

It will take work to bridge this gap, but it is one that must be done.

Join me in the 2Mn5 initiative.

Call me, Share my Contact Information, Text me! Let’s Bridge this Gap together!