The share of borrowers applying for an adjustable-rate mortgage is the highest it’s been in 15 years, a new analysis by Zillow has found, but unlike the lead-up to the subprime mortgage crisis, these borrowers remain well-qualified.
Massachusetts’ South Coast will not see MBTA commuter rail service until the end of next year, but the train is already making waves in the region’s housing market.
Black homebuyers receive a record number of home loans in Massachusetts in 2020 but persistent inequalities continued, and advocates say they face a major barrier to understanding why.
Massachusetts’ Black households appear to have been left behind by a record jump in the nation’s homeownership rate, a new study by the National Association of Realtors has found, and the soaring price of homes is likely to blame.
With the legislature and local governments beginning to make decisions on how to spend billions of dollars in federal relief funding, two economic experts on Thursday urged policymakers to be mindful of equity as they chart a path forward for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Massachusetts elected officials must have a “roadmap” in place and address the underlying causes of inequality if they want a historic injection of federal funding to help close racial wealth gaps
FHA loans are exploding in popularity. But their users – often Black and Latinx first-time buyers – can lose in multiple-offer situations. What can be done?
With divergent homeownership levels blamed for yawning racial wealth gaps both nationally and locally, a group of housing and civil rights leaders have released a proposal to create 3 million net new Black homeowners by 2030.
Over the next few months, the White House is likely to propose two major tax changes that could impact the housing sector. These two ideas, however, should be chucked in the circular file.
Less than one in three Latino Bay Staters own their own home, the lowest level of any major racial ethnic group in Massachusetts in a new National Association of Realtors study.
One of the first official actions Charlie Oppler took as the 2021 president of the National Association of Realtors was to issue a formal apology for the group’s contributions to racial segregation and inequality.
Since George Floyd’s death, many banks have leapt forward with billions in pledges to communities of color. Those actions should be praised, but lenders must look beyond addressing racial diversity and economic inequality with charity if they want to thrive in a changing America.
Minority homeownership rates have grown little since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. The answer is to create an AmeriCorps of financial educators who can help homebuyers of color afford homes – and keep them.
I constantly struggle with those who attempt to lay the blame for low minority homeownership rates at the feet of the mortgage lending industry. It is an extremely complex socioeconomic issue that requires a complex response.
The top economist at the National Association of Realtors this morning released a statement offering a five-point plan to help close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps in America.
African Americans still earn barely 60 cents for every $1 in white income. They have 10 cents in wealth for every $1 whites own. They remain more than twice as likely to live in poverty. And they’re about as likely to own a home as they were when Richard Nixon was president.
