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A Message From the Affordable Homeownership Team

Join the I’M HOME Network on social media through the end of July as we raise awareness and break down the preconceived notions about manufactured housing. We want to showcase its diverse community of homeowners, highlight its modern features and explore how manufactured housing is an attractive and affordable option for millions of Americans. Use the hashtag #RightAtHome2020 to join the conversation!

As we all continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to assure you that we will continue to work to actively support the members of our Network. Please fill out this survey [[link removed]] to share your stories on the impact of COVID-19 on your communities, your organization and your partners. You can also email [[email protected]]. We want to hear what you're seeing on the ground and how best to support you.

Our Resources [[link removed]] page is updated continually, so check back frequently. We're in this together!

In Case You Missed It

Join us for the 2020 Prosperity Summit!

Register by July 22 [[link removed]], to save your seat (and some money) at the Early Bird rate of only $189. This includes a certificate of completion and six months of on-demand access with new content monthly. You can keep the conversation going post-Summit in three different networking lounges and/or have the ability to slide into another attendee’s DMs (means direct messages, it’s what the kids are saying). Along with deep-dive learning labs on the field’s most pressing topics, plenaries with changemakers and visionaries, concurrent sessions lifting up the latest tools and ideas for financial well-being and a call-to-action hour guaranteed to inspire, you’ll have a chance to win prizes through gamification, get the family involved in a secret scavenger hunt, connect with the community during morning yoga (there’s more) or dance to the Sounds of Blackness. REGISTER TODAY [[link removed]] and let’s tackle economic security issues and build pathways to recovery together!

Homeownership Month Blogs

This Moment Calls for Finally Making Homeownership Access Fair

As we look back on June, National Homeownership Month, we must confront the connection between homeownership and inequality, and the centuries of systemic racism that have linked the two. The pandemic has put a spotlight on the connection between health and stable housing. The disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Latinx families, who are more vulnerable to job and income disruptions, will result in waves of evictions and foreclosures.

Read more [[link removed]].

Black Homes Values and Appreciation

Racial inequities in homeownership are crucial to understanding the racial wealth divide. According to the St. Louis Fed, 73.7% of White Americans own a home, in contrast to 44% of Black Americans. Nonetheless, Black Americans hold more equity in homes than in any other asset, and homeownership represents one of the most tangible ways of building wealth. Consequently, in addition to increasing the Black homeownership rate, we need to address the systemic obstacles that Black homeowners face in using their homes as wealth-building tools.

Read more. [[link removed]]

Affordable Homeownership: A Health & Economic Solution

The COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis it caused and the nationwide equal justice protests have reminded us that racial economic inequality persists in our country. With unemployment impacting more than 40 million people and many states reopening their economies, we are now thinking about how to move beyond this crisis. Homeownership must be part of the plan. Low-income families and households of color have long faced many barriers to homeownership, and the widespread gap in wealth and homeownership has been clearer since the last recession. Amid the current crisis we must ask ourselves, are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the Great Recession?

Read more. [[link removed]]

Upcoming Webinars

Rapid Responses for Communities to Address the COVID-19 “Housing Apocalypse”- Population Health Learning Collaborative

Millions are behind in rent or mortgage payments because of COVID-19. Cities and rural areas are filled with people under DEEP financial stress. Meanwhile, financial institutions fear loans will default, resulting in them holding countless properties no one can afford to live in. The team working on the virtual summit identified five strategies that communities could embrace to greatly reduce the damage of navigating through the crisis. Prosperity Now will participate in several webinars during Population Health Learning Collaborative’s (PopHLC) Innovations in Naturally Affordable Housing Virtual Summit. Check out the following links to find out more about PopHLC and the sessions we’ll be joining.

Session 1: Innovations to Increase Resident Ownership [[link removed]]

Session 2: Increasing Residential Density with Zone, Codes, and Policy Innovation [[link removed]]

Session 3: Leveraging Land Banks and Community Land Trusts to Create Short-Term Opportunities and Long-Term Affordability [[link removed]]

In the News

Newly released report--Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing 2020

Earlier this week, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition released its report titled, “Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing 2020.” With many CARES Act benefits ending this month and COVID-19 cases on the rise in several states, the report highlights the extreme impact of our nation's housing crisis on low-income families.

Read more [[link removed]]

Neighborhood Homes Investment Act

The COVID-19 pandemic is a health and economic crisis and will soon be a housing crisis, with federal and state eviction and foreclosure moratoria expiring, federal housing relief uncertain and incomes collapsing. That said, it is easy to lose sight of the future and how housing advocates can learn from the Great Recession. One of the worst housing outcomes of that crisis was the wave of wealthy investors buying up single-family homes across the country, stymieing homeownership and upending local housing markets. This is about to happen again, unless advocates and policymakers develop alternatives.

This month Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Rob Portman (R-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Todd Young (R-IN), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S. 4073 [[link removed]], the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act [[link removed]]. The bill is a companion to H.R. 3316, originally introduced by Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Mike Kelly (R-PA). As we noted in the last newsletter, the House passed the legislation as part of broader infrastructure legislation [[link removed]]. Prosperity Now is an original supporter of the legislation.

Strong foundation with Katherine McKay- On Freddie Mac Podcast

Housing is not just a market commodity, it’s also a basic human need. It contributes to all aspects of social, community and economic life. In this episode, Steve and Corey are joined by Katherine McKay, Senior Program Manager with the Financial Security Program at the Aspen Institute and lead author of the new report, “Strong Foundations: Financial Security Starts with Affordable, Stable Housing.” They discuss the report’s key findings, financial challenges and how society benefits when families have affordable, stable housing. Listen here [[link removed]].

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