Under the leadership of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, HUD has supported approximately a quarter of a million Black homeowners to buy a home with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages in the last three years, removing some systemic barriers to homeownership, HUD announced in a release.

Since 2021, approximately 250,000 Black homeowners have bought a home using an FHA mortgage. FHA changed the way student loan debt is calculated in FHA underwriting, so qualified people with student loan debt are not at an unfair disadvantage when seeking an FHA-insured mortgage.

“FHA also changed its policy so that if people demonstrate a consistent record of on-time rental payments, it can boost chances of being approved for an FHA mortgage. This change contributed to an increase in approvals, particularly for single Black women,” HUD stated in the release. “The percentage of FHA mortgages insured to Black and Brown borrowers outpaced the overall housing market. Since 2021, FHA has helped nearly 1.8 million people purchase a home. Over 83 percent, or 1.5 million of these homeowners, were first-time homebuyers. As a percentage of its business, FHA serves Black borrowers at triple the rate of the rest of the market.”

HUD helped over 160,000 Black homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes since the beginning of the pandemic. As a result of foreclosure prevention measures that HUD put in place since the beginning of the pandemic, 160,000 Black homeowners with FHA mortgages were able to keep their homes during a time of financial distress.

HUD has expanded access to housing counseling to help Black families and individuals unlock the wealth building potential of homeownership. HUD has expanded the Office of Housing Counseling and invested in improving access points to housing counselors. In addition, Fudge has hosted various HUD House Parties in Washington, D.C., and around the country to connect people to homeownership and wealth-building resources.

“Last year, HUD launched the ‘Let's Make Home the Goal’ campaign to connect families and individuals to HUD-certified housing counselors and help people set financial goals, navigate the homebuying process, and secure the keys to a home,” the release said. “HUD allocated nearly $1 million towards research focused on closing gaps in access to mortgage financing and homeownership.”

HUD also has invested in Black-owned small businesses and Black developers. Since 2021, HUD has supported the government-wide priority to advance equity in federal procurement by expanding opportunities for small, disadvantaged businesses – including Black small businesses.

HUD has significantly increased its contracting to small and disadvantaged businesses and has made community block grant funding easily accessible to be invested in low-income communities. Fudge convened Black developers on many occasions to discuss how HUD continues to reduce barriers to accessing funds.

HUD continues to invest in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). HUD awarded more than $10 million in funding to HBCUs across the country to conduct housing and community development research that focuses on individual and community wealth building, housing affordability and stability, climate resilience, and economic opportunity.

HUD remains dedicated to combating racial discrimination in housing. HUD continues to work with real estate agents, appraisers, states, and communities to root out bias in the appraisal process and end the practice of “low-balling” once and for all. HUD is working on a final rule to meaningfully implement the Fair Housing Act’s affirmatively furthering fair housing obligation to address significant disparities in housing needs for members of protected classes.

In 2023 alone, HUD granted $30 million to fair housing organizations to fight housing discrimination. HUD has expanded rental assistance and increased the number of housing choice vouchers to people with low oncomes.

In the last three years, HUD has awarded roughly 120,000 new incremental housing vouchers – the largest increase in vouchers in 20 years. Nationally, 48 percent of voucher holders identified as Black in 2023.

Fudge directed the agency to undertake a comprehensive review of HUD regulations, policies, and guidance to identify ways to reduce unnecessary and discriminatory denials and exclusions for people who have past criminal records but who pose no danger or risk to their communities.

As a result of that review, HUD will amend its regulations governing housing vouchers, public housing, and its multifamily housing programs to ensure that applicants are not automatically denied simply because they have a criminal record, but instead are given a fair and full individualized review.

In February 2023, Fudge announced the closure of the “Road Home” program, which freed 3,300 Louisianans from repayment obligations following debts incurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With the state’s compliance with HUD’s corrective action, the state released unpaid judgments and payment plans against homeowners in April 2023.

“The end of the ‘Road Home’ program was life changing for people like the Saunders family, long-time residents of New Orleans who have lived in their home for 30 years,” HUD said in the release. “For more than a decade, the Saunders family feared for their future because they held a ‘Road Home’ debt of $30,000 – money they used for post-Katrina housing repairs and expenses. With this agreement, the full balance of $30,000 owed was cleared by the state and the family no longer owes that debt. The Saunders looked forward to sending their nephew to college that fall.”