NFHA Releases Statement Applauding the White House and HUD Action Plan Addressing Bias in Home Appraisals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23, 2022

Media Contact:  Media@KAHConsultingGroup.com

WASHINGTON, DC–Today, the White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a comprehensive Action Plan addressing bias in the home appraisal process. Last summer, at the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, President Biden announced the creation of an interagency task force to combat bias in residential property valuations. In response, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice established the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE). This Action Plan represents months of intensive efforts to meet with key stakeholders, including civil rights advocates, to examine this significant fair housing issue.

Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) released the following statement on the release of the PAVE Action Plan:

“The appraisal industry is crucial in setting home values and shaping the financial well-being of millions of American families for whom a home is their main financial asset.  NFHA applauds the bold leadership of Secretary Marcia Fudge and Director Susan Rice in issuing this comprehensive, well-researched Action Plan to address the systemic devaluation of homes of Black, Latino, Native, and AAPI consumers. Although the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968, recent news stories and studies have shown that appraisal discrimination continues to restrict homeownership and lending opportunities for borrowers of color. In fact, the Black/White homeownership gap is larger than it was when redlining was legal, and it remains high for other communities of color. Because homeownership is the key to building wealth in the United States, it is not surprising that the racial and ethnic wealth gap also remains large and persistent. The PAVE Task Force’s Action Plan is a major step forward in identifying concrete measures that can ensure a fair, transparent, and reliable appraisal process, as well as the means of expanding inclusive homeownership opportunities, particularly for borrowers of color.

“As the NFHA Consortium found in its recent report, the appraisal industry has operated with little scrutiny or oversight. By comparison, other sectors of the mortgage market have evolved to engage substantive reforms and adopt less discriminatory practices. Without honest conversations about appraisal bias, coupled with meaningful reforms, the homeownership and wealth gaps will remain stubbornly entrenched. We hope that the findings in the PAVE Action Plan and the NFHA Consortium report will promote steps among key stakeholders in the appraisal and housing industry to seek workable, sustainable solutions that benefit the whole of the housing market, including communities of color. We call on Congress, federal regulators, the industry, and fellow advocates to work together to enact the meaningful changes necessary for real reform. Any entity with a role in the appraisal process has a responsibility to help address these inequities.”

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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.