Racial inequities in homeownership rates are wider today than during the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. It’s critical that we support a new initiative to increase Black homeownership in the Seattle-Tacoma area, where discriminatory housing practices from years past and the current high costs of living have kept many Black people from capitalizing on one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets.
The Black Home Initiative, or BHI, is a $1.95 million, privately funded effort launched in March to create 1,500 new low-to-moderate income Black homeowners in South Seattle, South King County and North Pierce County within five years. BHI aims to reduce inequity and increase intergenerational household wealth through a seven-point plan that includes credit and lending, purchase support tools and sustaining existing owners. BHI is part of a national effort to target race-based inequalities in the housing market.
According to 2021 Prosperity Now data, the homeownership rate in Seattle among Black households is 26%, roughly half the rate among white households, at 51%. The homeownership rate among Black households in Tacoma is 35%, compared to 64% among white households.
Consequently, more than 33% of Black households in the Seattle-area have zero net worth, compared to 17.7% of white households, and nearly 62% of Black renters in Seattle are considered cost-burdened, compared to 42% of white renters. Being priced out of the housing market has forced many Black residents to either move elsewhere or be displaced by gentrification, creating longer commutes to work and less access to goods and services.
The Seattle-Tacoma area housing market has been known historically for discriminatory housing practices such as redlining and restrictive covenants. Now a current shortage of affordable housing is exacerbating the racial gap in homeownership rates. As owning a home that appreciates in value is one of the most common ways to avoid displacement, pass on generational wealth and achieve financial security, Black residents have been unable to capitalize on a local real estate market that according to Neighborhood Scout has appreciated 143.43% over the last 10 years.
United Ways of King and Pierce County both work to close the income inequality gap in our region and to help communities and families gain more financial stability. If everyone in our region is to capitalize on its housing boom, we must support initiatives that make homeownership more accessible and affordable for everyone.
BHI makes that possible by implementing approaches that include land acquisition, funding mechanisms aligned with the needs of developers, increased down payment options and other mechanisms to create new pathways for successful homeownership.
We should be compelled to support the efforts of BHI to increase homeownership for Black people and others historically denied it. Here are ways to get involved:
· Contact elected officials to insist they craft legislation to address unjust practices in housing and increase resources that create access to asset-building opportunities, including homeownership, for Black communities.
· Get involved with the nonprofit organizations that are actively working in King and Pierce counties to acquire land specifically for homeownership.
· Learn more about BHI and the history of systemic policies in local housing at Civic Commons, a Seattle Foundation venture created to help solve some of the region’s most-pressing economic and social challenges.
We must prevent another decade of housing disparities that are worse than they were more than 60 years ago. BHI is an important and big step in that direction.
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