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NCRC

Just News

for January 9, 2026

 

News and views from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Find more at ncrc.org.


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News

 

NCRC Supports The Administration’s Statement To Ban Large Institutional Investors From Acquiring More Single-Family Homes, Sets Criteria For Further Actions

By NCRC

“Families should be able to compete fairly for a home in the communities where they work and raise their kids—not be outbid by Wall Street firms that treat starter homes like financial instruments,” said Jesse Van Tol, President and CEO of NCRC. [Read more] 

Views

 

New York’s Empire Justice Center Empowers Rochester Residents To Advocate For Equitable Housing Policies

By Jesse Rhodes 

Using a multi-pronged approach that focuses on litigation, education and advocacy efforts, EJC has provided services to more than 12 million people across a wide range of issue areas, including civil rights, health, immigration and housing. Over the past year, EJC has been focused on increasing housing options and affordability in the Rochester area, which has one of the most competitive housing markets in the country. [Read more] 

 

Building Roots And Prosperity: African Community Housing & Development Secures Hundreds Of Housing Units For Seattle’s African Community

By Maya McKenzie

ACHD’s work is multi-faceted and recognizes that economic stability must be approached holistically. To achieve this, the organization offers housing, business support, workforce training, financial literacy education and cultural preservation services free of charge to the communities they serve – all aimed at addressing the root causes of racial and economic inequities in the greater Seattle area. [Read more] 

 

Arkansas Agency Empowers Low-Income Residents To Become First-Time Homebuyers

By Kaitlyn Ridel

MCAEOC is one of 15 community action agencies in the state that were established under the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act, which carries out social programs aimed at combating poverty. The organization is also a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counseling agency that provides financial education services for Mississippi County residents. [Read more] 

Research 

 

Historic Redlining’s Effects On Home Mortgages Today

By Bruce C. Mitchell 

The study uses a new metric developed by Dr. Chen, the Mortgage Density Index (MDI) to determine how many loans a racial group receives compared to that group’s percentage makeup within a neighborhood. The study found that racial disparities in mortgage access for Black households hasn’t improved over the past three decades. [Read more] 

 

No Christmas Miracle This Year: December 2025 Race, Jobs And Economy Update

By Joseph Dean

The end of the longest government shutdown in American history means the resumption of the long-awaited monthly economic data releases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, the November BLS jobs report and a number of other noteworthy economic data releases have been delayed for weeks. What we know about the state of the labor market and the broader economy has come primarily from private data sources in the interim. [Read more] 

Events

 

Ready To Win More Grants? Start From A To Z

January 21-22, 12 - 3 pm ET
This training is designed for developers, executive directors, and program managers seeking grant funding for their projects. It provides guidance on the key documents required for most grants and walks through a step-by-step grant-writing process. Led by an expert with over 20 years of grant-writing experience, this interactive session will share practical writing techniques to craft stronger, more confident proposals that improve participants’ chances of securing grants. [Register here]
 

Assessing Capacity: Infrastructure & Staff Requirements For SNAP E&T Success

January 21, 1:30 pm ET

In the second of our 5-part series covering the essentials of SNAP E&T, NCRC’s Economic Mobility team will share how community-based organizations can evaluate and assess the capacity of their current workforce development staff, training capacity, and support services for alignment with SNAP E&T requirements. We will walk through everything you need to determine if your staff capacity and systems position your organization for success as a third-party partner. [Read more]

 

2026 FED Application Informational Webinar

January 28, 2 - 3 pm ET

NCRC members: Join us for an informational webinar to learn more about the application process to host a graduate student for a member-designed, 9-month fellowship project that drives your organization’s mission forward. [Register here]

In The News

 

Mercantile Gets Green Light To Buy Eastern Michigan

By American Banker

Mercantile's pending acquisition of Eastern Michigan is approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Rise Economy announce a $2.5 billion addendum to Columbia Bank's community benefits agreement; the Federal Reserve Board and CFPB raise thresholds for certain credit and lease transactions; and more. [Read more]

 

On Our Radar

 

What 2026 Could Hold For The Housing Market

By Sami Sparber, Axios

"A lot of the challenges that the housing market has been grappling with — the lack of affordability and the 'lock-in effect' on existing homeowners — are still going to be present in 2026, but the grip is kind of loosening," Hale tells Axios.[Read more]

 

New Maine Database Will Track Housing Growth

By Diana Ionescu, Planetizen

A new Maine state law requires municipalities to document and report on how much housing was permitted and built each year dating back to 2010, reports Kathleen O’Brien in the Bangor Daily news. [Read more]

Resources

Work And Meet At The Just Economy Club
It's a DC hub for nonprofits and the social sector, around the corner from the White House. Move your team into a private office or host your meetings and events. [Read more]

Learning & Training Hub
Register for NCRC's catalog of professional development courses. [Learn more]

Research And Reports
We have an extensive library of research and reports that dates back many years! [View all]

 

Fair Lending Tool
Use our interactive tool to produce a report on mortgages, small business lending and bank branch networks for any city, county or metro area in the nation. [Access the tool here]

 

Sign And Share The Just Economy Pledge
Help us expand the movement for a Just Economy. [Sign and Share]

 

Member Hub
NCRC members: Don't forget you have access to our member hub! Learn more about membership here. You can join as an organization or an individual.

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