With Boston’s housing crisis impacting communities of color, some homebuyers are considering the housing lottery as a viable option.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home ownership was up 65.5% in 2021, but the rate among Black Americans dropped off 44% over the same time period — an increase of just 0.4% in the last 10 years — making it the largest gap in Black-to-White homeownership in a decade.
Locally, a report from the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard found that for the last couple of years, the number of Black and Latin homebuyers increased, keeping pace with the national numbers. While these rates are encouraging, homeownership for communities of color continues to be a problem. Black and Latin Bostonians are moving out of Boston to find an affordable place to live, which has raised questions about the demographic make-up of the area.
This week on Basic Black, housing educators and experts discuss how the housing lottery can be an alternative for people of color to secure a home and possibly build generational wealth. Joining Paris Alston, co-host of GBH's Morning Edition, are Renee Taylor, Economic Opportunity Director at Somerville Community Corporation; Linda Warren-Cato, homebuyer educator at Financial Education Associates; Tayla Andrè, realtor for Thumbprint Realty; and Sabrina Antoine Correia, vice president of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan & Chase.
Watch the latest episode of Basic Black tonight at 7:30 p.m. on GBH 2 or live at the stream below. You can also watch on the GBH News YouTube channel. Subscribe to get notifications for future premiere episodes.
