Jan21
If Joe Biden hopes to enact an ambitious recovery agenda modeled on the New Deal, he must confront its racist legacy. For many Black and brown Americans, 2021 brought renewed optimism about advancing a racial justice agenda. With a new presidential administration, the racist despot will soon be removed, and the first African, Asian, Caribbean American and female vice Continue Reading
Jan18
1. King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin. The civil rights leader was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929. In 1934, however, his father, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, traveled to Germany and became inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King Sr. changed his own name as well as that Continue Reading
Jan13
White Iowans own their homes at nearly three times the rate of Black Iowans, one of the biggest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Nationally, this gap is wider than it was 50 years ago, because discriminatory housing policies and practices of the past and present are still hurting Black families and their ability to build generational Continue Reading
Jan12
Renters of color, especially Black Americans, often pay a “Black tax” — a premium for renting similar housing in the same neighborhoods as whites. Why it matters: A recent study found that Black tenants paid as much as 2% more in rent — a gap that widened if the area had a bigger population of white people. Higher Continue Reading
Jan11
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency wants to cure it Minnesota has ranked among the worst states in terms of racial disparities in homeownership. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) has made it a priority to mitigate those inequities and close the gap. “Minnesota’s homeownership disparities between White households and Households of Color has been persistent and continues Continue Reading
Jan11
When Rachel Rintelmann closed on her Washington-area home a few years ago, something caught her eye: a paragraph in her deed had been crossed out with a quick X, written in pen. It restricted who could “use or occupy” the house, allowing “no person of any race other [than] the Caucasian race”. “I chuckled because Continue Reading
Dec30
White Iowans own their homes at nearly three times the rate of Black Iowans, one of the biggest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Nationally, this gap is wider than it was 50 years ago, because discriminatory housing policies and practices of the past and present are still hurting Black families and their ability to build generational Continue Reading
Dec15
For this episode, Blend CEO and co-founder Nima Ghamsari met with Antoine Thompson, executive director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the largest and oldest organization of Black real estate professionals in America. The two had a wide-ranging discussion: how to narrow and eliminate the nearly 30% gap between Black and white homeownership in America and how technology can Continue Reading
Dec15
Along with the novel coronavirus, diversity and inclusivity are among the most notable social topics of the 21st century. Our world and its 7.6 billion inhabitants are more diverse than ever, yet inequality and racial discrimination are unfortunately rampant, in various forms. The real estate industry is no exception. In fact, the problem of inequality exists within Continue Reading
Dec07
New York (CNN Business)Owning a home was never a priority for Kenyan immigrant Lynne Poole or her husband, Aaron prior to 2020. The newlyweds, like many Millennials, enjoyed the lifestyle that came with renting an apartment in a major city — in their case, Denver. Lynne, 31, moved there in 2016 to earn her master’s degree in communications Continue Reading
Dec02
Black homeowners face more foreclosures, more tax liens, and higher unemployment rates than their non-Black counterparts—a New York City-based project powered by data and artificial intelligence revealed these racial disparities in homeownership. The collaboration between SAS Advanced Analytics and Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CYNC), which advocates for aspiring and existing homeowners in the city, occurred at a “critical Continue Reading
Dec02
“Foreclosure prevention measures, data collection, and reporting must be prioritized to stave off preventable foreclosures.” -National Consumer Law Center Amid this raging coronavirus pandemic, Black Americans continue fighting for equity at every turn; chief among these battles is the quest for economic security. The foundation of such security for Blacks as with most Americans, Continue Reading
Nov02
Black homeowners lose an average of about $14,000 over the life of a mortgage and about $67,000 in retirement savings due to higher interest rates, according to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers eighth annual State of Housing in Black America report. The analysis of 2019 HMDA data found that Black borrowers locked in Continue Reading
Nov02
Why homeownership costs for Blacks are disproportionately high — and what can be done about it African-American homeowners pay hundreds of dollars more per year in mortgage interest and mortgage insurance premiums than White homeowners, a “Black tax” on homeownership that intensifies the nation’s wealth gap. That’s according to research by Ed Golding, executive director of the Continue Reading
Nov02
When Delmar Freeman began shopping for a home last year, he knew the biggest hurdle would be cobbling together enough money for a down payment. The D.C. native, who has been a firefighter in the District for 15 years, says he watched home prices in the city inch up over the years and worried he Continue Reading
Nov02
Out of darkish occasions like the widespread and tragic lack of life we’ve endured in the course of the coronavirus pandemic there has to return some good. In spring 2020, the real estate business, like so many others, was impacted by uncertainty and a nationwide shutdown that saved us from doing our jobs. However we collectively confronted this Continue Reading
Oct27
The Black Lives Matter movement is spurring the American auto-insurance industry to acknowledge its decades-long discrimination against Black drivers — a long overdue reckoning for an industry that also subsidizes road carnage. A new industry study reveals that auto insurers charge Black drivers with good records more than white drivers with bad records — among Continue Reading
Oct24
The considerable levels of segregation between white and black communities still exist in large American cities, and debate about the causes of this residential separation has been considerable. A keen analysis of the factors that might explicate residential separation in this country—such as discrimination, urban structure, social preferences, and economic status (affordability)—reveal that a variety Continue Reading
Oct23
Black homeownership rose to a 12-year high earlier this year, reaching 47% by the second quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Still, African American families own homes at much lower rates than whites, who were at 76% in the same quarter for a difference of 29 percentage points. The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential Continue Reading
Oct23
From high mortgage and loan denial rates to gentrification, a history of discriminatory practices has prevented Black Oregonians from buying a home. In a December 2019 report, a state task force revealed that Black Oregonians had the lowest rates of homeownership, with 32.2% of households owning a home. More than double that percentage of white households Continue Reading