Data Shows Hispanic Home Value Gap Decreases in Boston
In Boston, the gap in home values between Hispanic homeowners and white homeowners currently sits at 13.7 percent, a measurable reduction from prior years.
Banks Have a Powerful Tool Many Aren’t Using
With rules around special purpose credit programs now clarified, big names in the industry are turning to this 50-year-old tool to make a big difference in the lives of New England families.
Banks Still Haven’t Closed Racial Gaps in Business Lending, Researcher Finds
New research sponsored by The Boston Foundation finds that, even after the pandemic put racial disparities in business lending into stark relief, Massachusetts entrepreneurs of color are still struggling to access capital.
Be Thankful for Equity Trailblazers
Three trailblazers this year showed what’s possible to increase access to capital for underrepresented consumers and entrepreneurs – not out of some sense of charity, but because it’s good for business and our community.
Report: Give Developers More Subsidies for Affordable Condos
To address a shrinking but still substantial racial wealth gap, Massachusetts’ should expand programs that encourage developers to build home ownership condominiums, a Boston Foundation analysis concludes.
Eastern, Berkshire Join New Anti-Racist Lending Pilot
Two prominent Boston banks have joined forces with 18 other financial institutions to launch a new lending program that seeks to adopt anti-racist underwriting approaches and increase lending commitments to support people of color.
Pandemic Dramatically Boosted Mass. Minority Homebuying
A new analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows the low interest rates homebuyers enjoyed in 2020 and 2021 had an outsized impact on efforts to close the racial home ownership gap in Massachusetts.
Letter to the Editor: Become Part of the Solution to the Racial Homeownership Gap
We are inviting the Massachusetts real estate community to join us in our efforts to close the racial wealth and homeownership gap with a fund whose results have already been transformative for those it has already helped.
Eastern Bank Launches Initiative for Diverse Business Owners
Eastern Bank has launched a new initiative to provide specialized credit offerings to underrepresented business owners.
ARM Application Rate the Highest Since 2007
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.
Pandemic’s First Year a Boon to Black Buyers
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.
CFPB Not Helping Lending Disparity Fixes
What is the mortgage industry to make of a new analysis that shows more Black and Latino homebuyers received loans in 2020 than ever before, but racial disparities in who gets financed persist? Unfortunately, the CFPB isn’t helping.
Boston Fed Launches Wealth Gap Research Project
Aiming to update its groundbreaking 2015 research into Boston’s racial wealth gap and help identify solutions, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced a three-year research partnership with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and several prominent foundations this week.
Home Ownership Push Proves Easier Said than Done
Roy Avellaneda, president of the Chelsea City Council, thought his idea was pretty straightforward: Impose a five-year moratorium on construction of new rental properties in the city to give councilors time to re-write zoning laws to promote home ownership.
DOJ Launches Initiative to Fight Redlining
The U.S. Department of Justice will coordinate with financial regulators and state attorneys general on a new initiative to enforce laws that prevent discriminatory practices involving “modern-day redlining.”
Economic Experts See Payoff From Equity Investments
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.
Could a Home Ownership Push Fight Boston’s Affordability Problems?
When it comes to combatting ever more expensive housing prices and rents, Boston mayors have pretty much drawn from the same playbook over the past quarter-century. Whether that strategy is actually working is a matter of much debate.
ARPA Spending Bill in Works for the Fall
Passing a bill to spend some of the federal funding allocated to Massachusetts through the American Rescue Plan Act before the Thanksgiving holiday is a “reasonable” goal, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Monday.
Biden Admin Outlines Plan to Boost Multifamily Financing
White House officials are outlining plans to build and restore more than 2 million homes, a response to the volcanic rise in housing prices over the past year.
Advocates Praise Baker Housing Proposal, Urge More
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
