September 9, 2022 | by Katie Claflin
Categories: Homeownership
The 2022 State of Housing report by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University revealed significant racial disparities among homeownership rates in Harris County.
Most significantly, homeownership rates among Black households in Harris County fell from 41% in 2010 to 36% in 2020.
Furthermore, while homeownership rates for Hispanic households have remained steady at 51%, they are still significantly lower than homeownership rates for white households, which were 71% and 68% in 2010 and 2020 respectively.
Analyzing data collected from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the report identifies other troubling trends impacting households of color. For example, Black and Hispanic residents in Harris County are more likely to receive a mortgage loan application denial than white households. Building home equity is also more difficult for households of color, as their loan amounts and property values tend to be smaller.
Through its Wealth Opportunities Restored through Homeownership (WORTH) Initiative, Wells Fargo recently awarded $7.5 million to LISC Houston and the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative to help address these inequities. This grant will be utilized to support strategies aimed at creating 5,000 new homeowners of color in Harris County by 2025.
The WORTH Initiative is a $60 million national effort to address systemic barriers to homeownership for people of color. Houston is one of eight communities across the country to be selected for a WORTH grant. Collectively, these communities are seeking to create 40,000 new homeowners of color nationwide.
TSAHC is participating in the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative, along with LISC Houston, Avenue, Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, Houston Habitat for Humanity, Tejano Center for Community Concerns, and the City of Houston Housing & Community Development Department.
Over the next four years, the Collaborative will focus on four primary strategies to increase homeownership opportunities:
To learn more about the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative and Wells Fargo's WORTH Initiative, we invite you to view the press release here.
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