Proposed Rules Could Widen Racial Homeownership Gap
• Banks may make mortgages more expensive for buyers with small down payments due to proposed capital requirement rules. This could widen the racial homeownership gap.
• Higher interest rates have already put homeownership out of reach for many Black Americans who previously qualified. The gap now stands at its widest in a decade.
• An unusual alliance of banks and affordable housing advocates opposes the rules, arguing they will restrict lending to minority homebuyers.
• Non-bank lenders have stepped in as banks retreat from riskier mortgages, but these lenders can't fully substitute for banks.
• The rules could especially hurt buyers like Marsheila Caldwell, who has repeatedly tried and failed to find an affordable home over the years as costs keep rising.