TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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36 | M R EP O RT FEATURE It is incumbent upon the mortgage industry to create meaningful and trustworthy outreach to Black Americans—and more specifically, Black women. And this certainly goes beyond slapping smiling Black faces on marketing material. increase the wealth within our Black households and transi- tioning that wealth to future generations. And for the major- ity of Americans, the number one vehicle supporting wealth creation is investing in sustainable homeownership. The question remains: How can we as a mortgage lending in- dustry create more opportunities to support our Black brothers and sisters in becoming sustainable homeowners? My humble answer: Take Black women seriously as a viable base to increase homeownership in our community. According to this report from Urban Institute, the Black female demographic has increased our share in households headed by women to just over 60%, which is more than any other racial de- mographic. In fact, over the last 30 years, Black women have increased their homeownership rate by 5.6%, while Black men have experienced the greatest decrease in homeown- ership over the same time period. Additionally, Black women have the highest labor force participation rate of all women. That said, Black women remain the most underserved segment of all potential household forma- tions, across these racial and gender divides. And instructing loan officers to blindly target Black females is hardly going to be an effective industry strategy. It is incumbent upon the mort- gage industry to create meaning- ful and trustworthy outreach to Black Americans—and more spe- cifically, Black women. And this certainly goes beyond slapping smiling Black faces on marketing material. True outreach means robust homebuyer education, taking time to shepherd potential homeowners slowly through the home buying process, and educat- ing our underserved communities about down payment assistance programs, special purpose credit programs, and mortgage credits that are available to bridge the gap toward becoming a homeowner. Having processes in place to support these underserved mar- kets is a critical part of showing our communities of color that we are serious about advancing their homeownership. It also goes a long way to healing some of the financial trauma and distrust in banks that hold back minority communities. And we are seeing some progress. Arrive Home was created to provide down payment assistance and earned equity incentives to Black and minority homebuyers. And while we are not alone, there is still much to be done to significantly increase the number of Black homeowners in our country. Fannie Mae recently an- nounced the selection of five organizations to receive deliv- erable-based contracts under the Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, a nation- wide competition to help advance racial equity in housing. Guaranteed Rate is offering Special Purpose Credit Programs that will provide up to $8,000 in assistance to potential first-time homebuyers from underserved communities. Despite these advances there is still measurable discrimination against Black Americans in all financial services, primarily in the form of higher interest rates and lower credit approvals. I echo the recent Black History Month speech from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr at the Hope Economic Mobility Forum at Jackson State University, who said that more needs to be done to eradicate discrimination in our financial institutions. As we seek to diversify our industry by bringing in more young folks and people of color, let us listen deeply to these new groups of individuals. Hiring diverse talent creates a broader range of life experiences and perspectives. This can result in creating innovative solutions and programs that will help to begin to shrink the continually expand- ing racial homeownership gap. Five generations ago, my great, great, great grandfather, who was born enslaved, decided to prioritize homeownership after he was emancipated. Upon his death in 1902, the 66-year-old had accumulated 50 acres of land and left a home to each of his eight children. I am so proud of my family history and filled with gratitude to be a beneficiary of the decisions he made so long ago. The time is now for a new generation of Black Americans to use the power of the Black Dollar to invest in wealth creation in our own community. And with innovative programs and creative solutions from our industry, as Sam Cooke sang, I know a change is gonna come. TAI CHRISTENSEN is Co-Founder and Chief Diversity Officer for Arrive Home, a national down payment assistance social enterprise serving underbanked communities. Tai is also the host of the California Mortgage Bankers Association's podcast on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She serves as Chair of the American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC) and also serves as a board member for Axis Lending Academy, a nonprofit that focuses on providing the mortgage lending industry with a more diverse talent pool of job candidates. Tai has been featured on Fox Business News, as well as articles in the Washington Post, MReport, Real Estate Weekly, Forbes, and numerous podcasts. Tai is passionate about assisting creditworthy borrowers in disadvantaged communities become homeowners and build intergenerational wealth through homeownership.