Tag: Fair Housing
-
Growing Concerns About AI in the Home Buying Process
Artificial intelligence has found its way into everything. Buying a home is no exception—especially if a real estate brokerage or financing company is involved. Today’s buyers are used to AI being part of shopping for most anything. Most people expect it to be part of a real estate deal—bringing efficiency and precision into the process.…
-
HUD Moves to End Fair Housing Rule That Shelters Battered Spouses
The “disparate impact rule” has been used in cases involving domestic violence survivors and others in vulnerable housing situations. This rule is often used to help keep at-risk people in safe, healthful, stable housing. Now, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plans to cancel the rule.
-
Eyes on the Ball: Fair Housing Strengthens a Society’s Commitment to Equal Rights
Housing discrimination leads to so many regrettable circumstances. It divides and segregates us. It sits at the core of the affordability struggle. It leads to unrest, anger, and desperation in our cities and towns. Unfairness in the housing setup constantly affects the quality of people’s medical care, safety…even access to healthy food. It impacts some…
-
The Push for Fair Housing: Can Equity Triumph Over Hardball Politics?
The National Fair Housing Alliance keeps the public updated on housing access. Its recent reporting indicates that U.S. housing discrimination has been rising over the past decade. In our digital era, we cannot talk about discrimination without implicating automated systems. So we need to understand fairness in the context of our computer age. Technology can…
-
Seeking Housing Market Info? Today, 61% of Home Buyers Check AI First.
Artificial intelligence is transforming real estate deals, says a new Realtor.com® survey. Through that survey, the National Association of REALTORS® found that eight out of ten U.S. home buyers use artificial intelligence (AI) when making their plans and navigating their home purchases. The top two AI models for buyers are OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.…
-
Beyond Bizarre: Milwaukee’s Racial Deed Restrictions
Milwaukee is dealing with a race matter — affecting tens of thousands of the city’s property deeds. Two researchers, Profs. Anne Bonds and Derek Handley, shared their progress with more than 200 interested attendees this month at Milwaukee Central Library. The findings were beyond bizarre.
-
When Some Buyers Are More Equal Than Others: Will the U.S. Government “Reboot Redlining”?
Not long ago, New Jersey-based OceanFirst Bank agreed to pay more than $15 million in a settlement with the federal government. This was to resolve the government’s allegations that, for several years, beginning in 2018, the bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act. The problem involved an alleged pattern of ignoring…
-
Racially Restrictive Covenants: Island County, WA Recommends New Resolution
Leaders in Island County, in Washington State, hope to adopt a resolution for atonement. The resolution will officially apologize to those people and households kept out of the county by race-based deed restrictions. A deed restriction that “runs with the land” stays on the property if the deed changes hands. Once a home was marked…
-
Will NAR’s Speech Code Be Shot Down in Texas?
Recently, a notable opinion column ran in Real Estate News. Ryan Weyandt, a real estate consultant, wrote: “There’s no place for hate speech in real estate.” That’s also the view of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which in 2020 etched this position into its formal Code of Ethics, binding NAR’s agents. Why is this…
-
A Minnesota First: Twin Cities Suburb Requires Removal of Race-Based Deed Restrictions
Mounds View, Minnesota is making history with its new ordinance requiring home sellers to remove race-based deed restrictions before selling. Mounds View adopted its new ordinance on July 23, 2024. It’s official. Mounds View, a Minneapolis – St. Paul suburb, will now require the removal of racially restrictive covenants from deeds. Racial covenants (a.k.a. race-based…
-
Washington State’s Path to Fair Housing: The 2024 Recording Fee Increase and Covenant Homeownership Program
Beginning January 1, 2024, Washington State implemented a substantial revision to its recording fees, significantly affecting the real estate sector. This modification entailed a $100 increase in the recording fee for each document, aligning with the Covenant Homeownership Program assessment as outlined in RCW 36.22.185. This hike is applicable to a broad array of documents,…
-
KeyBank Talks Fair Housing—Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
KeyBank® is putting $400,000 into NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania. Why? To make housing accessible to Black communities — as they have been disproportionately left out of homeownership. Sure, $400,000 is a modest sum these days. But it’s part of a bigger picture. In recent years, KeyBank has contributed close to half a billion dollars to Greater…
