JPMorgan Chase [1] has taken new steps to address the housing affordability gap [2] as part of its $30 billion commitment to help advance racial equity and drive an inclusive recovery.
The firm aims to improve housing affordability and stability, as well as homeownership opportunities for Black and Latinx households through a number of initiatives, including:
- Addressing housing stability, affordability, and wealth creation via a five-year, $400 million philanthropic commitment that includes low-cost loans, equity, and grants targeted to non-profits and organizations in the affordable housing space that work to improve affordability and stability for Black and Latinx households.
- Creating more paths to affordable and sustainable homeownership through the Chase Community Home Lending Advisor program to help more people on the journey to homeownership, and engaging with industry partners and regulators to find ways to address gaps in the residential appraisal process.
- The JPMorgan Chase Policy Center [3] will partner with policymakers and community leaders to advance data- and evidence-based solutions to tackle housing challenges.
“We’re trying to address some of the barriers to affordable housing and homeownership to help provide family stability and build generational wealth for Black and Latinx families,” said Jamie Dimon [4], Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. “Whether you rent or own your home, more families deserve fair, sustainable and accessible options and businesses have a responsibility to develop housing solutions for those who lack access to opportunity.”
JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropic commitment will help tackle the housing crisis for Black and Latinx households by:
- Working with the Urban Institute [5] to identify, test and scale innovative affordable housing solutions, such as eviction prevention programs and ways to address appraisal gaps, to better serve Black and Latinx households;
- Collaborating with the Center for Community Investment at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy [6] to advance solutions such as preserving affordability of existing homes and expanding community ownership models in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Miami; New Orleans; and Seattle.
- Provide philanthropic support to non-profits that fund foreclosure and eviction programs such as emergency financial assistance, rental repayment plans, and negotiation support.
- Provide liquidity—including emergency financial assistance—to non-profit providers of affordable housing and to small landlords facing their own financial strains.
- Advance effective housing preservation models to maintain existing affordable units, such as protecting small buildings at risk of losing affordability.
"This announcement underscores JPMorgan Chase's understanding of systemic issues of inequity and their commitment to driving economic justice. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt in waves, and we are on the brink of an even deeper affordable housing crisis than currently exists,” said Marla Bilonick, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) [7] President and CEO. “NALCAB is pleased to work with our member organizations to provide emergency financial assistance to ensure that 2,000 Latino families are able to stay in their homes. Nothing could be more critical to recovery than ensuring stable housing and JPMorgan Chase has risen to the occasion, once again."
Chase is expanding its traditional home lending advisor network to include a new job called “Community Home Lending Advisor,” designed to be located in minority and low-to- moderate income communities. These individuals are experts in local housing and down payment assistance programs. To date, Chase has hired more than 100 Community Home Lending Advisors nationwide and will continue to expand.
To address two of the biggest barriers to affordable lending, Chase has expanded its Homebuyer Grant program to $5,500 to help more customers with closing costs and down payment assistance when buying a home in more than 6,700 minority communities nationwide.
JPMorgan Chase is providing mentors for trainees in the Appraiser Diversity Pipeline Initiative [8], a program led by the Appraisal Institute [9] and Fannie Mae [10], designed to attract new people in the field, help trainees overcome common barriers to entry and foster diversity.
“Businesses, community leaders and policymakers need to work together to advance solutions that address housing instability and bring foundational change to the housing market,” said Heather Higginbottom [11], President, JPMorgan Chase Policy Center and Co-Head of Global Philanthropy. “These data-driven policy reforms will help families across the country who have previously been locked out of stable, affordable housing.”
Click here [2] to read more about what JPMorgan Chase is doing to expand housing affordability.