National Homeownership Month 2021: Reflecting on the Work Ahead
By Donald King, Marty Kooistra, Peter Orser, and Andrea Reay—steering committee members of the Coalition for More Housing Choices
June is National Homeownership Month, giving us the opportunity to reflect on both the benefits of homeownership and the ongoing barriers to accessing this vital pathway to wealth generation and housing stability.
The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of home. For many, home is a workplace, a school, a playground, and much more. Homeownership also creates a strong foundation on the path toward wealth building, and it is important that all communities can enjoy equitable access to these benefits.
Homeownership is often cited as the single best long-term investment. Many homeowners count on their home equity to fund retirement, their children’s education, and other important needs, such as creation of intergenerational wealth. Yet a home is so much more than an investment. In good times and in bad, the opportunity to own a home has been a cherished ideal and a source of pride, accomplishment, social stability, long-term connection to a community, and peace of mind.
Housing is also vitally important to local, state, and national economies—18 percent of the U.S. economy relies on housing. A healthy housing industry means more jobs and a stronger economy.
While renting a home is the desirable choice for many, there is great value in removing barriers to ensure more individuals and families who want to can pursue the opportunity to own a home of their own. That’s why it is critical that homeownership remains attainable and that access to safe, healthy, and affordable housing remains a national priority.
However, much more work is needed to ensure greater access to homeownership opportunities for all, in particular communities of color and first-time homebuyers. The Black homeownership rate in our four-county Puget Sound region (King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties) is about half that of whites. This is unacceptable and undermines the basic integrity of our communities. Disparities in access to homeownership—as well as displacement from affordable homes and the ability to purchase homes in neighborhoods of opportunity—creates a significant barrier to wealth creation for communities of color, especially Black households.
That is why the Coalition for More Housing Choices convened more than 100 regional stakeholders for a BIPOC Homeownership Summit on March 29. Stakeholders from throughout the region discussed strategies that could enable the Puget Sound region to achieve a proposed challenge statement: 60,000 more successful Black homeowners by 2041. This would effectively double the current Black homeownership rate in the region and close the Black-white homeownership gap.
This important conversation around increasing homeownership opportunities for communities of color is continuing over the summer, with another working session planned for June 30. Four focus areas have emerged in this effort:
Buyer identification and preparation and the sustaining of existing owners;
Construction financing, land assemblage, scaled production, and alternative methods of conveyance;
Underwriting, lending, down payment assistance, and debt remediation;
Policy reform.
Organizers hope the strategies identified in this ongoing conversation can form the basis of a comprehensive strategy for a joint public, private, and nonprofit initiative to increase Black homeownership in the region. The goal is to have a finalized strategy to be reported at the Housing Washington conference, which runs from October 5-6.
We applaud those who are already engaging in this vital work and invite others to join the conversation as well. Here is how you can participate in and keep updated on this effort:
Learn more about the October Housing Washington conference
View resources from the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King Co.
Subscribe to the Coalition for More Housing Choices e-brief for regular news and updates
The work to reduce and remove barriers to homeownership is one that requires a spirit of collaboration at multiple levels of government. It also requires the direct engagement of the communities who proudly call our region home. Success will not be measured overnight. But by deliberately prioritizing equitable access to the benefits of homeownership, we can realize the full potential of our region and every one of its residents.