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NCST’s work increases access to homeownership, promotes resilient neighborhoods, and advances racial equity by advocating for policy change.
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The mission of the Homeownership Alliance is to increase access to homeownership in order to narrow America’s racial wealth gap, improve access to long-term affordable housing, and to revitalize communities without gentrification.
The Homeownership Alliance is a practitioner-led collaboration that advocates for more resources and better policies to increase affordable homeownership opportunities for American families.
Our members comprise some of the leading nonprofit, mission-focused homeownership practitioners from across the country. These organizations prepare families to become successful homeowners and finance, renovate, and develop affordable homes that are assets for communities and the families that live in them.
We are committed to building a robust, nonprofit-led delivery system that will increase access to homeownership for those who have been left behind by our current system. We will increase the visibility of homeownership as an important means of achieving greater social justice, will advocate for public policies and resources that support affordable homeownership, and will help scale effective homeownership strategies across the country.
The Homeownership Alliance is driven to develop affordable homeownership opportunities for families because homeownership is so important in narrowing America’s racial wealth gap.
According to the September 2020 Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, white households’ median wealth is $188,200 compared to only $24,100 for Black households and $36,200 for Hispanic households.
This wealth gap is both a cause and an effect of the persistent disparity in homeownership rates, with the Census Bureau reporting a homeownership rate of 74% for White households, 44% for Black households, and 48% for Hispanic households in 2021.
Since the end of World War II, homeownership has been the primary driver for building generational wealth for American families, but millions of Americans, especially households of color, have been denied the wealth-building and community-stabilizing benefits of homeownership.
1. The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (S. 657 and H.R. 3940)
This bill establishes a new federal tax credit to encourage the rehabilitation of deteriorated homes in distressed neighborhoods. States would receive Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NH) tax credit authority and administer and allocate credits on a competitive basis. Rehabilitated homes must be owner-occupied for investors to receive the credits. Homeowners must be below certain income limitations, sales prices are capped, and qualifying neighborhoods must have elevated poverty rates, lower incomes, and modest home values.
2. Homeownership Finance Fund
The Homeownership Alliance recommends that the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund work with Congress to create a new source of funding for affordable homeownership within the CDFI Fund program called the Homeownership Finance Fund. Our country faces a severe and worsening housing affordability and supply crisis, as well as persistent and harmful racial disparities in the rates of homeownership and household wealth. CDFIs and nonprofit housing developers can help solve these problems by scaling up the production of homes affordable to low- and moderate income (LMI) families –including many households of color and first time homebuyers- who are increasingly priced out in many markets across the country.
1. CDBG
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding is used by cities and states for a wide variety of neighborhood improvements like sidewalks, street lights and the elimination of blight. CDBG is also used for affordable homeownership but it can be difficult to use. The Homeownership Alliance has regulatory recommendations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to streamline and update the CDBG regulations.
2. HOME
HOME is an affordable housing program administered by states and localities that can be used for rental housing or homeownership. HOME use for homeownership projects has been declining in recent years, but with some streamlining of the HOME regulations, this resource could create more homeowners. The HOME Coalition has included the Homeownership Alliance’s HOME recommendations in this letter from industry stakeholders to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
3. Federal Home Loan Bank System
The Federal Home Loan Bank System was created during the Great Depression to provide reliable liquidity to lenders for home mortgages and community investments. The 11 Federal Home Loan Banks are member-owned cooperatives that collectively borrow in the capital markets to make loans to members. This is an underutilized resource that should be tapped as a source of low-cost, long-term capital for homeownership lending and development. Homeownership Alliance Comments on FHFA Comprehensive Review of FHLB System.
Federal Home Loan Bank System Policy Options Memo
4. Capital Magnet Fund
The Capital Magnet Fund was created in 2008 to be a source of flexible capital for affordable housing developers to leverage with other funds. It can be used for both affordable rental housing and homeownership, with a preference for projects that serve lower-income residents. Program reforms would make this resource easier to use for homeownership. Homeownership Alliance Response to July 2023 Capital Magnet Fund Request for Information
5. New Markets Tax Credits
The New Markets Tax Credits attract capital investments to distressed neighborhoods by giving investors in businesses in these neighborhoods credits on their federal taxes equal to 39% of their investment over seven years. An innovative use of the power of this tax incentive is to finance real estate construction companies that build affordable homes in qualified neighborhoods. This use should be encouraged. The Homeownership Alliance has sent a letter to the CDFI Fund making additional recommendations to improve the use of New Markets Tax Credits for affordable homeownership.
New Markets Tax Credits Policy Options Memo
6. Property Disposition
Currently there is a serious inventory shortage of lower priced, high quality single family homes for potential homebuyers. Government policies regarding delinquent loans and foreclosed homes could be improved so that these properties can benefit families and neighborhoods.
Policy Options Memo for Delinquent Loans and Foreclosed Homes
These resources highlight how important homeownership is to closing America’s racial wealth gap, as well as how removing barriers to homeownership impacts families.
Currently, the Alliance is supervised by a Steering Committee consisting of representatives from existing membership. Steering Committee members set the policy advocacy strategy for the Homeownership Alliance, including the annual federal policy priorities. Anthony Simpkins, President and CEO of NHS of Chicago, is Chair of the Steering Committee.
For more information about the Homeownership Alliance, including membership and partnership opportunities, please fill out the following contact form.
NCST’s work increases access to homeownership, promotes resilient neighborhoods, and advances racial equity by advocating for policy change.