Race and housing: The path forward

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Some cities are defying the trend of the homeownership gap between Black and white Americans — which is worse today than when race-based housing laws and policies were in effect decades ago.

The big picture: An Axios analysis of census data shows that some large cities like Fort Worth, Texas, and midsize cities like Gilbert, Arizona, have higher rates of homeownership for people of color than other cities of the same size.

The homeownership rates are above the national averages — and sometimes well exceed them — despite high rates of poverty in some of the cities.

The rates show that despite systemic barriers, Black Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans are navigating mortgage denial rates and decades of unequal access to financing in some cities where they have more political and demographic power. 

By the numbers: El Paso, Texas, ranks as the top large city for minority homeownership, according to an analysis using the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey five-year estimates and a study by Constructioncoverage.com, a website that covers news for builders. 

The West Texas city had a minority homeownership rate of 58.5%. 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, ranked second among large cities with a minority homeownership rate of 54.6%.

Elk Grove, California, and Port St. Lucie, Florida, topped midsize cities with minority homeownership rates of more than 72%, while the small Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas, had the highest rate in the nation at 82.5%.

Between the lines: Officials in El Paso and Albuquerque say a diverse workforce among mortgage brokers, real estate agents and local banks likely contributed to high rates of homeownership for people of color.

Michelle Melendez, director of Albuquerque's Office of Equity and Inclusion, tells Axios the city's investments in low-income housing have helped the city's Latinos, who can then go through financial literacy classes and buy a home.

A little more than four in 10 (45%) Black Americans, 49% of Hispanic Americans, and 59% of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders owned a home in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 74% of white Americans, per the Census Bureau. 

Philadelphia, a city that for decades had struggled with segregation and housing discrimination, had a Black homeownership rate of 48.4% — the highest rate among large cities with 350,000 or more people. 

Ira Goldstein, the president of policy solutions at the Reinvestment Fund, identified a few reasons why Black homeownership rates are high in Philadelphia compared to other major cities, Axios Philadelphia's Taylor Allen reports. 

For one, Philadelphia historically has had a fairly affordable housing market compared to other large cities, particularly for first-time homeowners.

In addition, the city is known for using the federal Community Reinvestment Act to encourage commercial banks to provide mortgage loans for people who live in moderate- and low-income neighborhoods. 

Don't forget: Philadelphia also has programs to sustain homeownership, like the Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, which requires homeowners and mortgage companies to go through mediation to work out an agreement before a judgment moves forward. 

There's also the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, a statewide program for homeowners who may be at risk of losing their homes because of financial hardship.

Detroit, a place that has suffered from years of white flight and an eviction crisis, has a Black homeownership rate of 45.9%. 

This number is high compared with the national average. But homeownership in Detroit — a city where 77% of residents are Black — has fallen, Axios Detroit's Annalise Frank reports.

The city flipped from majority homeowner to majority renter sometime in the mid-2010s. 

State of play: Mortgages to Black residents are on the rise, from just 130 in 2012 to 919 in 2020, according to think tank Detroit Future City. Meanwhile, mortgages to white residents have plateaued at around 600 for the last couple of years.

"This is due in part to increased lending across a larger area of the city to African-American homebuyers and improvements in the housing market," DFC's report reads. 

Yes, but: Black home purchase lending applicants are still getting denied at more than twice the rate of white applicants. 

Washington, D.C., is moving ahead with a program to increase Black homeownership. Mayor Muriel Bowser's new Strike Force initiative will help determine how to use the city's $10 million Black Homeownership fund, Axios D.C.'s Paige Hopkins reports.

The fund, which is a part of the mayor's 2023 budget, is one aspect of a larger plan to increase the number of Black homeowners in the District by 2030.

In the District, 34% of homeowners are Black compared to 49% of white residents, according to the mayor's office.

Just outside of D.C. in Prince George's County, Maryland, there is a large concentration of wealthy Black homeowners. Brookings Metro fellow Tracy Hadden Loh says, "Exclusion from other suburbs" is one of the reasons Black homeowners historically found their way to Prince George's County.

Additionally, the D.C. region has more Black-owned businesses than other parts of the country. "This is like a positive and self-reinforcing cycle in terms of creating Black wealth," Loh says of homeownership supporting entrepreneurship and vice versa.

Why the racial homeownership gap persists

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1. Where homeownership by people of color thrives

Large cities like Fort Worth and Albuquerque have high homeownership rates for people of color.

Deep Dive: Hard Truths - Housing

Some cities are defying the trend of the homeownership gap between Black and white Americans — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="which is worse today" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-racial-homeownership-gap" data-vars-content-id="f848be72-17fe-45de-a490-d4ba99a9020e" data-vars-headline="Where homeownership by people of color thrives" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-racial-homeownership-gap" target="_self">which is worse today</a> than when race-based housing laws and policies were in effect decades ago.The big picture: An Axios analysis of census data shows that some large cities like Fort Worth, Texas, and midsize cities like Gilbert, Arizona, have higher rates of homeownership for people of color than other cities of the same size.

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For more than a year, Black and Hispanic homebuyers have gotten $5,000 in down payment or closing cost assistance from JPMorgan Chase, part of a new program meant to help close the racial wealth gap. 

Why it matters: If adopted on a wider scale, this kind of targeted program — which specifically tracks lending to borrowers of color, a radical departure — might help increase Black homeownership rates. JPMorgan is the first bank to give it a try.

These types of programs "could provide the kind of homeownership boost to Black communities today that the New Deal provided to white people in the 20th century," write the authors of a February paper published by the Urban Institute.

How it works: The bank created what's known as a special purpose credit program (SPCP), a policy made possible by the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act that's gaining traction now, especially after federal regulators across several agencies issued a statement on SPCPs in February.

The law prohibits discrimination in lending, but there's an exception allowing banks to create these SPCPs for disadvantaged classes of borrowers.

JPMorgan implemented the program in specific census tracts with majority Black populations. There are 6,700 such areas across the U.S.

The bank chose this route instead of simply offering the money to Black borrowers because it's tricky to track the race or ethnicity of homebuyers while staying in line with non-discrimination laws.

Yes, but: The bank wouldn't say how many borrowers have received the grants, but even if the numbers were substantial, one bank's program is small relative to the massive size of the U.S. mortgage market. Close to 70% of mortgages are not originated by banks in the U.S.

Gentrification is a "potential unintended consequence" here, Cerita Battles, the bank's managing director and head of community and affordable lending, said at a recent panel on SPCPs. 

The grants could wind up going to white borrowers seeking to move to Black neighborhoods. She said the bank is closely monitoring the process to avoid this. So far, 57–60% of the bank's SPCP assistance has gone to Black and Hispanic customers, she said.

The program could also reinforce already existing housing segregation.

The backstory: The large gap in homeownership rates between Black and white Americans drives a massive wealth gap, which in turn perpetuates inequality, as banks typically want to lend to borrowers who already have money.

This gap is deeply rooted in the U.S. housing system, but after the protests during the summer of 2020, the bank pledged to spend $30 billion over five years to address racial inequity in lending — the largest such lending commitment at that time, as Axios reported. 

This program is related to that pledge — though there is neither a cap on how much the bank can spend nor a time limit, Ashlei Bobo, a spokesperson at Chase Home Lending, tells Axios.

The program is distinct from other private efforts to close the racial homeownership gap, which target low-income borrowers as a proxy for race. Experts say it's more effective to target the problem more directly.

"We are deluding ourselves if we believe we will cure centuries of race-based discrimination without targeted measures," wrote the authors of a piece on SPCPs at the National Fair Housing Alliance.

What they're saying: Walter Suazo, a 27-year-old restaurant consultant in New York, used the SPCP program to buy a one-bedroom apartment last year. He's the first in his family to be able to own his own home. 

Suazo, who is Hispanic, hopes more people will take advantage of the program, which he learned about when he went to the bank to apply for his mortgage. "I know JPMorgan has money to give," he said.

What to watch: In early June, Fannie Mae —a pivotal player in the mortgage market — made SPCPs a central part of a new plan aimed to encourage racial equity in housing.

2. One bank's program to boost Black homeownership

The JPMorgan Chase program helps with down payments and closing costs.

For more than a year, Black and Hispanic homebuyers have gotten <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$5,000 in down payment" data-vars-click-url="https://media.chase.com/news/chase-homebuyer-grant" data-vars-content-id="88a62072-28b6-409f-961d-b81b1c7ce597" data-vars-headline="One bank&#x27;s program to boost Black homeownership" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://media.chase.com/news/chase-homebuyer-grant" target="_blank">$5,000 in down payment</a> or closing cost assistance from JPMorgan Chase, part of a new program meant to help close the racial wealth gap. Why it matters: If adopted on a wider scale, this kind of targeted program — which specifically tracks lending to borrowers of color, a radical departure — might help increase <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Black homeownership rates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-racial-homeownership-gap" data-vars-content-id="88a62072-28b6-409f-961d-b81b1c7ce597" data-vars-headline="One bank&#x27;s program to boost Black homeownership" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-racial-homeownership-gap" target="_self">Black homeownership rates</a>. JPMorgan is the first bank to give it a try.

Philadelphia is experimenting with a new way to help renters: an "eviction diversion" program that requires landlords to go through a mediation process when a tenant is in danger of being kicked out.

Why it matters: Evictions disproportionately impact Black women in Philadelphia, which also mirrors national trends, according to research from Community Legal Services.

On a national level, Black Americans make up 20% of renters — yet they make up one-third of people who receive eviction filings, according to Carl Gershenson, a project director at The Eviction Lab.  

How it works: Landlords must go through the eviction diversion process with tenants before they can file an eviction. 

The mediation-based program, originally designed as an emergency response to the pandemic, is designed for landlords and tenants to settle on an agreement without the involvement of a filing that can harm a tenant's credit and make finding a future residence difficult.

Right after Mafieyah Robinson moved into her apartment in Roxborough — a northwest neighborhood in Philadelphia where she grew up — in November, she experienced a domino effect of bad luck.

First, she lost her job as a home health aide and then she lost her roommate — all while she was pregnant. She was backed up on a few months of rent by the time her landlord asked her to undergo Philadelphia's eviction diversion process. 

One month after going through the program, Robinson is back on her feet and keeping up with her repayment plan with no eviction filing on her record. 

By the numbers: Since the eviction diversion initiative launched in September 2020, 4,056 pairs of landlords and tenants went through the program. 

Until January of this year, more than 90% of those pairs either reached an agreement or continued to negotiate as rental assistance was in limbo, according to the city.

Philadelphia's eviction filings have crept to 75% of pre-pandemic levels, according to Gershenson.

Yes, but: When the eviction diversion program was extended another year until the end of 2022, it came with some changes — like being a requirement for all evictions, not just those with a COVID-19 hardship.

The program also came under new pressure when the city's rental assistance from the federal government began to run out. Since May 2020, the city dispersed more than $260 million in federal rental assistance.

As time progressed, sources who have worked with the program tell Axios wait times and "graceful exits" increased —when the tenant is so far in arrears that the landlord and tenant both agree the tenant should leave and the landlord doesn't go after the money.

From Jan. 11 to May 26, 2022, the success rate was 67% in reaching agreements, according to the latest figures available. As of this January, the measure of success no longer includes cases that take longer than 30 days to reach an agreement. 

Mary Harper, a housing counselor with the Urban League, tells Axios that the majority of her tenants go the "graceful exit" route. She said she's seen several owe anywhere from $13,000 to $15,000.

Andre Del Valle, the government director of the Pennsylvania Apartment Association, a landlord lobbying group, tells Axios that he wouldn't support extending the program another year under its current conditions. 

Still, many landlords see the program's value. Kyle Hong Ping is a landlord who has gone through the program more than 50 times with various tenants. He wants to see it continue because it gives people a break. 

"I like it because you're not in court, which can be intimidating, and there's no filing on their record, which can make it harder for them to get more housing."

Ping tells Axios he also likes that the program helps make those difficult conversations less adversarial. 

What's next: The eviction diversion program is likely to be extended beyond 2022, but it's up in the air as to whether it will remain a requirement before a landlord files an eviction.

The city is budgeting $11.4 million toward eviction prevention and $15.2 million for rental assistance over four years.

Also, the city will approve an additional $15 million in rental assistance for next year's budget. 

The bottom line: The program shows promise and became a national model, but it's still only addressing a portion of the need. It will need additional funding to flourish.

3. Philadelphia tries mediating evictions

Its "eviction diversion" program requires landlords to go through mediation before kicking out renters.

Illustrated collage of Philly row homes and a key ring.

Philadelphia is experimenting with a new way to help renters: an &quot;eviction diversion&quot; program that requires landlords to go through a mediation process when a tenant is in danger of being kicked out.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Evictions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/08/31/eviction-renters-landlords-tenants-housing-market" data-vars-content-id="6697d0e9-6ca8-494e-ad35-e1631dde2fbe" data-vars-headline="Philadelphia tries mediating evictions" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/08/31/eviction-renters-landlords-tenants-housing-market" target="_self">Evictions</a> disproportionately impact Black women in Philadelphia, which also mirrors national trends, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="research from Community Legal Services" data-vars-click-url="https://clsphila.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Breaking-the-Record-Report_Nov2020.pdf" data-vars-content-id="6697d0e9-6ca8-494e-ad35-e1631dde2fbe" data-vars-headline="Philadelphia tries mediating evictions" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://clsphila.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Breaking-the-Record-Report_Nov2020.pdf" target="_blank">research from Community Legal Services</a>.

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Re-created from National Bureau of Economic Research; Chart: Axios Visuals

Reparations are getting an increasingly serious look by state and local governments as one way to help Black Americans make up lost ground on housing and broader damages.

Why it matters: With legislation to create a national reparations commission stalled in Congress, some state and local efforts are gaining momentum and could lead to ground-level efforts to redress generations of damages from slavery and other state-sanctioned discriminatory practices.

The big picture: The homeownership gap is driven by decades of unequal access to mortgage financing. There's also an enormous racial wealth gap between Black and white Americans that essentially stopped closing after the 1950s.

As of 2020, the white-to-Black per capita wealth ratio in the U.S. was 6-to-1, a magnitude that has barely changed in 70 years, according to a recent report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

The latest: An independent advisory committee in St. Paul, Minnesota, presented its recommendations this week for the next steps in the city's reparations push. It cited proposals to address inequities in housing — including a forgivable down payment assistance fund — as potential elements of a reparations program.

"Direct cash payment is at the top, but then there's things that follow that: housing, education, health and wellness, business [opportunities], and the criminal injustice system," Trahern Crews, an activist serving as a convener of the St. Paul committee, tells Axios.

Crews said the fallout over George Floyd's murder brought renewed interest and urgency to the effort in St. Paul. "I believe that St. Paul is leading right now on reparations for the whole country," he said.

Yes, but: There are still a few steps before anything happens. The committee's first recommendation is simply to create a commission to design the program. 

And the effort could be expensive — potentially costing the city tens of millions of dollars. The St. Paul report identifies a number of potential funding sources, including sales taxes, land sale proceeds and philanthropic donations.

In California, the state's reparations task force released its initial 500-page report this month. It included recommendations to offer housing grants, state-subsidized mortgages, and public housing options to vulnerable populations, like people who were formerly incarcerated or in the foster care system. 

"That so-called lottery needs to be tweaked to ensure that Black folks get their proportion of affordable housing as payback for what they did, pushing us out," task force vice-chair Amos Brown tells Axios. 

Brown referenced San Francisco's Fillmore District, a thriving Black neighborhood in the 1950s that the city decimated in the name of "urban renewal," displacing some 20,000 residents. 

"From jump street, from the very beginning, this state and this city have been mean as hell to Black folks," Brown said. 

Evanston, Illinois, is one city that's taking action. The city moved forward in January with awarding $25,000 grants to eligible residents that could be used to help purchase a home, pay a mortgage, or cover the costs of home improvements. 

Sixteen people were initially selected for what Evanston calls its "Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program."

What they're saying: "It's a small-scale initiative, but it's big news because it's never been done before," Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, founder of the National Black Cultural Information Trust, tells Axios.

"Not everybody will do it the same way [as Evanston], but they can at least come up with ideas for what can be done and what can best suit their community."

What's next: The leaders of cities like Los Angeles; Denver; Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Durham, North Carolina, have promised to pursue reparations initiatives, though the forms they would take could vary widely. 

And a group called Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE) has vowed to advance the idea, declaring that "cities can — and should — act as laboratories for bold ideas that can be transformative for racial and economic justice on a larger scale."

"There's been decades and centuries of discussion about this … but it's only been in the past few years that [reparations efforts] have really gotten anywhere past the starting line," Andre Herndon, chief of staff for Los Angeles mayor and MORE founder Eric Garcetti, tells Axios. "There's action being taken."

St. Paul takes step toward reparations for Black residents

4. What's next for reparations

National efforts are stalled, but some ground-level initiatives are moving ahead.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Reparations" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/02/10/house-panel-to-hold-another-hearing-on-reparations" data-vars-content-id="c0ab37ee-d46b-4178-87d8-caaa805bb872" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for reparations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/02/10/house-panel-to-hold-another-hearing-on-reparations" target="_self">Reparations</a> are getting an increasingly serious look by state and local governments as one way to help Black Americans <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="make up lost ground" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-segregation" data-vars-content-id="c0ab37ee-d46b-4178-87d8-caaa805bb872" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for reparations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-segregation" target="_self">make up lost ground</a> on housing and broader damages.Why it matters: With legislation to create a national reparations commission <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="stalled in Congress" data-vars-click-url="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-recast/2022/02/04/sheila-jackson-lee-reparations-slavery-bill-00005750" data-vars-content-id="c0ab37ee-d46b-4178-87d8-caaa805bb872" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for reparations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-recast/2022/02/04/sheila-jackson-lee-reparations-slavery-bill-00005750" target="_blank">stalled in Congress</a>, some state and local efforts are gaining momentum and could lead to ground-level efforts to redress generations of damages from slavery and other state-sanctioned discriminatory practices.

The diminished stock of affordable housing is leaving both renters and buyers in a precarious position with slim options.

Why it matters: Frothy home prices and rising mortgage rates are scrambling the math behind homeownership and worsening a nationwide affordability crisis. And when there are no affordable homes around, it's hard to make any progress on homeownership for people of color.

Meanwhile, rent prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic's early days, adding to inflationary pressures and steadily chipping away at the premise that renting is better than owning.

One option that could provide an answer for some: Tiny home living is making a comeback.

How easy (or not) is it to build a do-it-yourself abode? The timetable from breaking ground to move-in is around 500 hours (roughly under a month), with an average cost between $30,000 and $60,000.

But bear in mind that a tiny house means exactly that — specifications are between 100-400 square feet — and it's very labor-intensive. 

The average price is 87% cheaper than the average home, but square footage costs are higher, CNBC notes, and can vary depending on where you live.

According to The Tiny Life, Western and Sun Belt states are popular tiny home enclaves.

What they're saying: "Whenever there is uncertainty in the housing market or prices climb, people start to consider what they need and what housing options are right for them," Ryan Mitchell, who famously saved over $100,000 and paid off his student loans by living a minimalist lifestyle in a tiny home, tells Axios.

"In times like this, people have a natural pause to consider what's important, and in that, they might decide that a smaller home or even a tiny home might suit their needs better," he added.

The big picture: Apartment List's rental index surged by over 17% last year, reflecting what senior economist Chris Salviati calls a "really crazy year in the rental market" — one where rent hikes far outstripped historical single-digit percentage gains.

Nationwide vacancies are well below pre-pandemic levels, while rents have surged in 96 out of 100 cities tracked by Apartment List. 

"It's been a wild time in the market recently, [and] we're starting to see initial signs of slowdown a little bit, but no indication of when things are coming back to earth," Salviati tells Axios.

What to watch: The Federal Reserve's monetary tightening may eventually bring real estate demand back to earth. Yet there's no easy fix for tight rental markets, where rising rents and pandemic-era migration are putting upward pressure on prices. 

In hot markets like Florida, Arizona and Las Vegas, prices are up by at least 30%, Apartment List data shows.

In fact, very few remaining areas can be considered reasonably priced, as many flee pricey (and troubled) coastal cities to comparatively affordable Sun Belt markets, Salviati notes. "Those are the places that had been more affordable but are becoming less and less affordable."

The Midwest and Rust Belt — which include places like Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, Detroit and St. Louis — are still relatively affordable, even amid fast rent growth.

5. "Wild" housing market leaves renters, buyers fewer choices

They're making a comeback as high prices stress buyers and renters.

Illustration of a hand holding a tiny house in its palm. 

The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="diminished stock of affordable housing" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/housing-affordability-collapse?utm_source=linkedin&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_content=economy-business-housingaffordability" data-vars-content-id="c66fdee8-9555-4125-b8be-8146ee0acded" data-vars-headline="&quot;Wild&quot; housing market leaves renters, buyers fewer choices" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/housing-affordability-collapse?utm_source=linkedin&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_content=economy-business-housingaffordability" target="_self">diminished stock of affordable housing</a> is leaving both renters and buyers in a precarious position with slim options.Why it matters: Frothy home prices and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rising mortgage rates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/home-mortgage-car-loan-credit-card-fed-interest-rates" data-vars-content-id="c66fdee8-9555-4125-b8be-8146ee0acded" data-vars-headline="&quot;Wild&quot; housing market leaves renters, buyers fewer choices" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/home-mortgage-car-loan-credit-card-fed-interest-rates" target="_self">rising mortgage rates</a> are scrambling the math behind homeownership and worsening a nationwide affordability crisis. And when there are no affordable homes around, it&#x27;s hard to make any progress on homeownership for people of color.

Native Americans on reservations and in nearby urban enclaves have lived for decades in dilapidated, overcrowded structures. A South Dakota community development group is turning to Oglala Lakota traditions to change that.

Why it matters: The Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. is helping Oglala Sioux tribal members navigate mazes of homeownership by offering classes, credit plans, and homes that break from "a colonial mindset."

Their programs are capturing the attention of other Indigenous communities and fair housing advocates internationally.

How it works: Thunder Valley CDC has built homes using straw bale infill, compressed earth block, structural insulated panels, and advanced wood frames — sustainable materials in the American Plains.

The homes are built in a circle with an opening to the east, in a Lakota tradition.

The tribal members learn financial literacy outside of the traditional U.S. banking system by raising funds with help from the community. The group offers "credit when credit is due" workshops and plans for first-time buyers.

Organizers work with tribal members to overcome poor credit to purchase a Thunder Valley home or develop a property elsewhere.

Those methods enable tribal members to declare their "independence from a colonial system," Thunder Valley executive director Tatewin Means tells Axios.

Don't forget: 40% of reservation housing is substandard, and nearly one-third of reservation homes are overcrowded, according to the National Congress of American Indians.

Less than half the homes on reservations are connected to public sewer systems, and 16% lack indoor plumbing.

Between the lines: Experts say there's little hope of improvement as long as Native American housing and property ownership sit in a maze of federal bureaucracies and underfunded projects.

Tribal members in need of federal-subsidized housing on reservations face long waitlists. Off tribal lands, they face the same obstacles to getting a mortgage as Black and Latino Americans.

The lack of housing forces some tribal members into homelessness in urban areas like Seattle, Phoenix, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Then-Pine Ridge Attorney General Tatewin Means stands in the Oglala Court House on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Thunder Valley executive director Tatewin Means in the Oglala Court House in South Dakota. Photo: Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Image

The intrigue: Thunder Valley CDC also trains adults in sustainable home construction, providing instruction and long-term educational plans.

Trainees leave with knowledge of Thunder Valley's sustainable building philosophy and are placed in jobs in the construction industry. 

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation, has an unemployment rate between 80% to 90%.

What they're saying: "Growing up, I knew not to get too comfortable with a home because my parents rented ... just because I knew that we'd end up leaving eventually," said DeCora Hawk, an enrolled member of the Stand Rock Sioux tribe, who bought a Thunder Valley home.

"Homeownership, to me, means changing that."

In a video testimony, the first-generation homebuyer describes going through the "intimidating" traditional banking process with the help of Thunder Valley staff, who coached her on credit expectations and how to save money. 

Means says homeownership for Lakota and other Indigenous people is not about obtaining wealth but liberation and independence. "If we get wealth, we share it."

Andrew Catt-Iron Shell stands on the porch of one of the houses at Thunder Valley in South Dakota. 

Andrew Catt-Iron Shell stands on the porch of one of the houses at Thunder Valley in South Dakota. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios

By the numbers: Thunder Valley's latest online report said the group sold three homes in 2020 and provided help to two other families for new homeowners in other parts of the Oglala Lakota Nation. 

The group continued to provide hours of training through the pandemic and offered Lakota language classes online.

Oglala Sioux  children work on cartooning art at a Pine Ridge Reservation community center.

Oglala Sioux children working on art at a tribal community center. Photo: Russell Contreras/Axios

One fun fact: Thunder Valley announced earlier this year it has acquired 48 acres of land for a holistic healing community in Whiteclay, Nebraska — a small unincorporated border town near the Oglala Lakota Nation.

For years, the town's four liquor stores sold 4 million cans of beer annually to nearby tribal citizens, leaving decades of scars.

The Nebraska Liquor Commission in 2017 declined to renew the stores' liquor licenses following years of pressure to close them. 

A reckoning on housing for Native Americans

6. A Lakota-inspired housing solution

A South Dakota community development group offers classes, credit plans, and homes that break from "a colonial mindset."

Photo illustration of people hugging above houses.

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: Courtesy of Thunder Valley CDC

Native Americans on reservations and in nearby urban enclaves have lived for decades in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="dilapidated, overcrowded structures" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-native-americans" data-vars-content-id="64cf8c98-649c-4cec-84cc-2e22f175d4f5" data-vars-headline="A Lakota-inspired housing solution" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2020/12/19/hard-truths-deep-dive-housing-native-americans" target="_self">dilapidated, overcrowded structures</a>. A South Dakota community development group is turning to Oglala Lakota traditions to change that.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Thunder Valley Community Development Corp." data-vars-click-url="https://www.thundervalley.org/initiatives" data-vars-content-id="64cf8c98-649c-4cec-84cc-2e22f175d4f5" data-vars-headline="A Lakota-inspired housing solution" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.thundervalley.org/initiatives" target="_blank">The Thunder Valley Community Development Corp.</a> is helping Oglala Sioux tribal members navigate mazes of homeownership by offering classes, credit plans, and homes that break from &quot;a colonial mindset.&quot;

Race and policing: The path forward

This installment of the next phase of our Hard Truths series explores what's being tried to address the problems of systemic racism in policing.

This installment looks at what's being tried to address the problems of systemic racism in policing.

Illustration collage of a police car behind yellow police tape, surrounded by graphic shapes.