August 4th 2023.
Secretary Marcia Fudge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) have joined forces to address the issue of appraisal bias and discrimination. Secretary Fudge recently spoke at NAREB's 75th National Convention, where she declared her commitment to combatting housing discrimination and bias through educational outreach. She also announced that HUD would be offering online training for housing counselors to gain a better understanding of racial appraisal bias.
At the convention, Secretary Fudge shared her own experience of living in a Black neighborhood where her home was valued less than the white neighborhood down the block. She emphasized that this must change. To address this issue, HUD and NAREB are holding roundtable discussions at regional HUD Office of Housing Counseling meetings across the U.S. These meetings will help homeowners recognize appraisal bias in their specific areas, promote public-private partnerships to fight appraisal bias, and discuss how housing counselors can provide aid to people impacted by discrimination and prejudice.
The National Fair Housing Training Academy has also teamed up with NAREB to provide training to Fair Housing Initiative Program and Fair Housing Assistance Program participants in identifying bias and discrimination in appraisals.
Secretary Fudge is also determined to reduce racial disparities in housing for marginalized communities. She mentioned that her administration is firmly devoted to making a difference in the lives of Black and Brown people. To that end, HUD and its partners are striving to tackle the credit and financial challenges Black borrowers face when purchasing a home. One policy change is that rental history can now be used as a credit history when obtaining an FHA loan, thus expanding access to credit and homeownership opportunities for individuals with limited credit history.
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