First-time homebuyers in front of their house

2019 - The Year in Review

We began the year with an examination of the 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard which consisted of several outcome measures related to homeownership and housing. One such measure included a new ranking system that focuses on the racial wealth divide. This ranking system allowed us to see that while homeownership in the US currently sits at 63.9%, when broken down by race, 71.9% of White households are homeowners, compared to 46.4% of all households of color and 41.4% of Black households.

As this report detailed the critical role of credit scores in helping families access affordable housing and mortgages, Prosperity Now also launched a three-part series of blog posts featuring walkthroughs of rent reporting by our partners. This series included a webinar that examined credit building through rent reporting.

In April, we watched HBO's John Oliver detail how private investors are threatening the fate of manufactured housing. During this segment, Oliver cited research statistics from Prosperity Now's Senior Fellow of Affordable Homeownership, Doug Ryan.

Additionally, we continued to successfully advocate for manufactured housing—the most underutilized form of unsubsidized affordable housing available. This has included working with our partners to explore how Native American Communities can readily access manufactured housing as a stable and affordable housing option. In October, Prosperity Now and our partners in the I'M HOME Network brought back the anti-stigma campaign to address misconceptions around manufactured housing.

We also continued to support legislation and policies at the federal, state and local levels to increase access to affordable housing. This included the December release of Prosperity Now's new federal policy proposal Coming Home: Providing a Pathway to Housing for All which outlines a more equitable and inclusive way to put more families on a path to homeownership.

2019 also showed our continued support for the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Duty to Serve Plans and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. We thank each of you that were able to sign on to one of our comment letters this year, including our letters to HUD, the EPA and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

As the year comes to an end, the Affordable Homeownership Team at Prosperity Now would also like to bid farewell to Patrice Kunesh as she steps away from her role as director of the Center for Indian Country Development. Over the past four years, Patrice has done invaluable work advocating for the housing and homeownership crisis in Indian Country and highlighting the experiences of Native people and their communities. Through our partnership with Patrice and the Center for Indian Country Development, Prosperity Now was able to feature a plenary on manufactured housing in Indian Country during both the 2018 and 2019 I'M HOME Conferences. Thank you, Patrice, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Prosperity Now remains steadfast in its belief that affordable homeownership offers families financial stability and a legacy to pass on to future generations. With the help of our nationwide Affordable Homeownership Network, we support access to the financial capability services and housing options that families need to successfully become homeowners.

"Gentle Density" and Affordable Homeownership

According to research from the Brookings Institution, allowing for "gentle" increases in density, or modifying single-family neighborhoods, could improve housing affordability in high-cost locations. Using Washington, DC as a case study, the authors argue that adding more homes to single-family neighborhoods could reduce some housing prices by nearly 50%—with some going from $1 million to approximately $570,000. Read more

Low Interest Payment Plans Leave Many With More Debt

According to research by The Detroit News and The Center for Investigative Reporting, the same payment plans that were intended to aid Detroit homeowners that were delinquent on property taxes have actually increased debt levels. With nearly 40% of those homeowners first enrolled in the program having faced foreclosure and 23% of those included in the study reporting an increase in debt, authors address the shortcomings of the program. Read more

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