By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
As D.C. officials look to increase Black homeownership by 20,000 in D.C. by 2030, recent reports by Bright MLS, a real estate organization, found that the district’s housing market is persistently unaffordable for homebuyers.
In September, Bright MLS reported that home sales are improving in the district after being down by 5.1 percent in August. The August housing market also saw a 16-year low in home sales.
Lisa Sturtevant, a chief economist at Bright MLS, believed buyers were waiting for mortgage rates to come down.
Mortgage rates have been coming down since early July and she expects them to keep decreasing.
“I expect that mortgage rates will continue to fall further for the rest of the year. However, I still think we’re going to be around 6 percent for an average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage through the end of the year. I think that’s kind of a new normal for now,” said Sturtevant. “Over the past 50 years, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.75 percent.”
High home prices are one thing keeping some buyers away. The median price for a home in August was $612,000, which is up 4.6 percent year-over-year. The median price for a home in September was $599,000, which is up 8.9 percent year-over-year.
Sturtevant encouraged buyers who are waiting to purchase a home that the fall will be a good time to hop back into the market.
“Home prices will fall seasonally, there will be more inventory out there rates are coming down,” said Sturtevant. “For someone who has been waiting, this fall, heading into the winter, seems like a really good time to be a buyer.”
She also acknowledged that the time frame will not suit everyone.
As the report shows, despite the mortgage rates coming down and more homes being available, prices continue to rise as affordability remains a pressing issue for D.C. homebuyers.
Year-round, affordability and accessibility can be a major issue for prospective Black homebuyers.
According to the Urban Institute, a D.C.-based think tank that conducts economic and social policy research, only 8.4 percent of homes purchased between 2016 and 2020 were affordable for average first-time Black homeowners. While on the other side, 71.4 percent of those homes were affordable for the average White first-time homebuyer.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) made it her mission on Oct. 3, 2022, to increase Black homeownership in D.C. by 20,000 by 2030.
“We know that that is the way to pass down generational wealth,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) during their Black homeownership announcement on Oct. 3, 2022. “Forty-nine percent of White Washingtonians own their home and 34 percent of Black Washingtonians own their home. We know if we can close that gap we can increase Black wealth in our city.”
Bowser highlighted how being a homeowner has supported her journey to being mayor.
“As a young woman who wasn’t making a lot of money I knew that I wanted to buy my own home,” said Bowser. “I had been renting and I wanted to move into a great neighborhood and do everything that I could to make it even greater. That’s what I did. I bought a house for $125,000. I gave everything I had to get in it and then I just worked hard.”
“That house has only allowed me to make big and bold decisions in my life, and it will allow my daughter to do the same,” she continued.
Nina Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, responded to questions about how the persisting unaffordability of the D.C. housing market is impacting the mayor’s goal.
“Mayor Bowser has and continues to prioritize strategic investments in programs and strategies that are helping to undo decades-long legacy of discriminatory housing and put homeownership in reach for more Black Washingtonians,” said Albert told the AFRO. “We recognize that the current shortage of affordable homes and increases in mortgage rates since 2021 is putting homeownership further out of reach for many D.C. residents. We are hopeful that improving market trends, coupled with our long-term investments, will increase affordable housing opportunities and make homeownership possible for more Black Washingtonians.”
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