Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced the administration’s action plan to Advance Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) to end racial and ethnic discrimination in the home appraisals process which has historically led to the undervaluing of homes owned by Black and Brown people.
According to a 2021 study by Freddie Mac, based on data for more than 12 million home appraisals, properties in Black and Latino Census tracts were appraised at values lower than the contract price more often than those in white Census tracts. As the number of Black and Latino homeowners increases, the gap in appraisal value also increases.
In response, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Director of Policy, Lisa Cylar Barrett, issued the following statement:
“We commend the Biden-Harris Administration for taking this important step to change the long-standing practice of undervaluing the homes owned by people of color, especially those in Black and Brown communities. This practice has had a profound, multi-generational impact on the ability of Black and Brown Americans to build wealth.
“Homeownership is touted as part of ‘the American Dream’ and is a sound wealth-building practice, but ongoing discrimination in appraisals has led to immense losses. By some accounts, in majority-Black neighborhoods, those loses are well over $150 billion.
“LDF looks forward to continuing to work with the administration and other stakeholders on this effort and others to ensure that Black and Brown Americans have the rights and protections needed to work, live, and thrive without barriers to equality.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Follow LDF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
