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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 36 March 2024 F E A T U R E S T O R Y T he winding path to home- ownership remains difficult for many. Millions of Ameri- can families do not currently own their homes, with recent Zillow research finding that the percentage of renting families that could easily afford a mortgage payment decreased dramat- ically over the past decade or so. Rising mortgage rates caused the share of Black households considered "mortgage-ready" to decrease to 7.8% in 2023 from 26.7% in 2012. There is still a noticeable racial disparity in homeownership rates, along with a disproportionate number of mortgage rejections. In every state across the U.S., Black, Hispanic, and Native American households are less likely to own a home than white households overall, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies. In 2023, more than 71% of white households owned their homes compared to 59% of Asians, nearly 40% of Hispanics, and less than 42% of Black households. Overall, Black households have the lowest national homeownership rate—an estimated 30 percentage points lower than white families—making the racial homeownership disparity particu- larly stark for them. With the overall demographics of homeowners and potential homeowners changing alongside the overall racial di- versity of the nation, how is the industry working to evolve to meet these needs of these new homebuyers and to ensure that homeownership remains an achiev- able goal for all those who can responsi- bly afford it in the decades to come? In this first of two parts, Mortgage- Point will speak with various subject-mat- ter experts from mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as various government and community agencies, about the changing face of the American home- owner/homebuyer, and how the industry is working to stay abreast of their needs. A Changing Landscape "Over the past four years, the mortgage industry as a whole has been increasingly focused on advancing homeownership, specifically for first-time and minority homeowners," said Tai Christensen, President of Arrive Home. Christensen noted that there have already been some some visible improve- ments in the homeownership rate for each of these racial demographics thanks to education and programs such as down-payment assistance and "other targeted industry diversity and inclusion initiatives." According to a report from the National Association of Realtors, within the next five years, some 1.5 million Black KEEPING HOME OWNERSHIP WITHIN REACH With the American populace undergoing immense generational changes, MortgagePoint examines how the industry can work to provide the bedrock of generational wealth that is responsible homeownership to as many as possible. B y D E M E T R I A C . L E S T E R D E M E T R I A C . L E S T E R is a reporter for MortgagePoint ( formerly DS News and MReport) with more than eight years of writing and editing experience. She has served as content coordinator and copy editor for the Los Angeles Daily News and the Orange County Register, in addition to 11 other Southern California publications. A former editor-in-chief at Northlake College and staff writer at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Arlington, she has covered events such as the Byron Nelson and Pac-12 Conferences, progressing into her freelance work with the Dallas Wings and D Magazine. Currently located in Dallas, Texas, Lester is an avid jazz lover, Harry Potter fanatic, and likes to read. She can be reached at demetria.lester@ thefivestar.com. Christensen