Realtor.com® now
displays down payment assistance information on all home listings,
so shoppers can easily see if financial help is available
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., April 5,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Housing affordability remains
near all-time lows and is a challenge for many homebuyers.
According to new survey data from Realtor.com®, recent
LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) buyers
are going into homeownership weighed down and more burdened by
housing costs than white and non-LGBTQ+ individuals.
Lower down payment, higher sales price and loan denials
creates cost crunch for communities challenged by lower
incomes
April is Fair Housing Month and it creates an
opportunity to shine a light on the need to create more equitable
housing opportunities and access for all individuals.
Realtor.com®'s data shows that LGBTQ+ and BIPOC buyers
are more likely to put smaller down payments on a home, with nearly
two-thirds (65%) putting down 20% or less of a home's purchase
price when buying compared to about half (53%) of white, non-LGBTQ+
buyers. LGBTQ+ and BIPOC buyers were also nearly 9% more likely to
pay over a home's asking price to get their offer accepted – 86%
paid over asking compared to 79% of white and non-LGBTQ+
individuals.
A smaller down payment on top of an above-asking home price
generally equates to a higher interest rate and monthly mortgage
payment, and that means LGBTQ+ and BIPOC buyers are likely to pay a
larger share of their income toward housing than other buyers.
That's especially challenging for budgets, as a higher percentage
of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC homebuyers were also more likely to fall into
lower income groups than white and non-LGBTQ+ buyers.
Realtor.com® also found that LGBTQ+ and BIPOC buyers
face challenges during the mortgage process, and are 1.7 times more
likely to have been denied mortgages two or more times.
"More Americans than ever before are stretched thin because of
the growing housing cost burden, but our data shows that LGBTQ+ and
BIPOC buyers are potentially spending even more of their income to
own a home of their own, which can make it difficult to afford
other essentials like food and transportation and creates even
greater inequalities," said Laura
Eddy, Realtor.com® vice president, Research and
Insights. "With the rising costs of homeownership taking a greater
toll on budgets, resources like down payment assistance can help
reduce the overall financial burden of buying a home and make it
more accessible to a wider range of individuals."
Down payment assistance helps reduce upfront costs of buying
a home
To help address the homeownership disparity in
America, Realtor.com® teamed up last year with the
Homeownership Council of America to donate to and raise funds for
HCA's Equity Down Payment Assistance Fund, which helps make owning
a home more accessible for BIPOC and low-to moderate-income
homebuyers. Since its inception, the Equity Down Payment Assistance
Fund has already helped several buyers close on a home, including
Jose, a Mexican-American from the Los
Angeles area. Jose is a first-generation homeowner and is
proud and excited to be celebrating the magic of many "first"
experiences, like celebrating the holidays with his daughter for
the first time in their own home.
"I believe there is a huge problem with the homeownership gap
and the effects of those gaps go on for generations," said Jose.
"Being the first one in my family to purchase a home is definitely
a proud moment – I get choked up thinking about it, because my
parents came to this country with a dream. Having a home of my own
felt like freedom."
There are 5.37 million Americans who qualify for down payment
assistance, according to the Urban Institute, but data from the
National Association of Realtors® shows only 3–4%
of recent homebuyers have taken advantage of these programs when
buying a home. Realtor.com® aims to raise awareness of
down payment assistance programs and other tools to help address
the homeownership disparity in America.
"At Realtor.com®, we believe the dream of
homeownership should be achievable by all, but inequality and a
history of discriminatory housing policies have made it harder for
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals to overcome housing hurdles, and since
housing is a predominant way to build wealth, that's led to a
significant wealth gap across generations," said Mickey Neuberger, CMO, Realtor.com®.
"Reducing unfair housing cost burdens and giving greater access to
communities who have been locked out of homeownership opportunities
can help address that gap, and it's why we're joining forces with
others in the industry and bringing new tools and resources to more
individuals to help lift their financial strain."
To increase awareness of down payment assistance programs and
make them more accessible to shoppers, all for-sale home listings
on Realtor.com® now include information about down
payment assistance under the Monthly Payment section. The tool,
also available at Realtor.com/fairhousing, puts information about
more than 2,000 programs right at consumers' fingertips, so they
can quickly and easily find available local, state or national
programs by sharing some basic information. The tool's
functionality is provided by Down Payment Resource, whose
technology matches buyers with assistance programs that meet their
individual home buying needs.
To watch a video about Jose's home journey, search for down
payment assistance programs, and find more Fair Housing tools and
resources from Realtor.com®, visit
Realtor.com/fairhousing.
Methodology
Realtor.com® conducted a
proprietary online quantitative survey in January 2023 among 7,514 consumers who visited a
website or real estate app in the last 12 months and who were a
primary or shared decision maker of living situations and had no
critical industry affiliations.
About Realtor.com®
Realtor.com®
is an open real estate marketplace built for everyone.
Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate
more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and mobile apps,
Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for consumers,
empowering more people to find their way home by breaking down
barriers, helping them make the right connections, and creating
confidence through expert insights and guidance. For professionals,
Realtor.com® is a trusted partner for business growth,
offering consumer connections and branding solutions that help them
succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is
operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV]
subsidiary Move, Inc. For more information, visit
Realtor.com® .
Media Contact
press@move.com
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SOURCE Realtor.com