homeownership

home under construction

Mortgage rates are stabilizing but that may not be enough to help house hunters

BY: - April 6, 2023

Home prices are cooling off and mortgage rates fell last week, but the fallout from recent bank closures could continue to make it hard for some Americans to buy homes, economists say.  Mortgage rates fell to 6.32% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, Freddie Mac data released on Thursday shows. Last fall, the 30-year fixed […]

COMMENTARY

People of color shouldn’t have to obliterate their presence to receive fair home values

BY: - August 24, 2022

Another case of likely racial discrimination in housing appraisals has cropped up, this time in Baltimore. The New York Times recently reported a Black husband and wife first received an appraisal of $472,000. After they “whitewashed” their home – removing family photos and having a White colleague stand in for them as the “owner” – […]

COMMENTARY

Home ownership and the “American Dream” are crushed by Real Estate Investment Trusts

BY: - August 23, 2022

A big economic division between renters and homeowners is apparent when looking at net worth: For homeowners, the median net worth of $231,400 is about 44 times the median net worth of renters, which is $5,200. Dr. Ken Chilton of Tennessee State University has studied the impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts on the housing […]