Buying a home in California is increasingly a matter of generational wealth.
An analysis by KPCC of more than 600,000 FHA loans found that Californians increasingly rely on family support to buy their first homes. That trend has prompted concern among experts that today's housing market is fueling inequities produced by past racial exclusion.
"Back in 2011, about one in four FHA loans in California included down payment money from relatives. Today, it's one in three," report David Wagner and Aaron Mendelson. In many parts of the state—from East San Jose to South Central LA—fully half of FHA borrowers received funds from their families.
The bigger the role of family wealth in homeownership, the worse the racial wealth gap is likely to become, researchers told KPCC: White families can often transfer wealth to their children precisely because they were favored by government policies around homeownership, while families of color who were excluded from owning a home now have less of a chance to help their children afford one.
FULL STORY: Where do people get money to buy California homes these days? Often, from mom and dad
Study: Half as Many Metro Areas Affordable to Low-Income Homebuyers in 2021 as in 2020
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Report Links Zoning and Land Use to Structural Racism
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Black Wealth Builders Fund Supports Black Homeownership
A Bay Area loan fund provides Black homebuyers with zero-interest loans to meet their down payments. But is it ‘reparations?’
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
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Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness
A proposal to speed up the eviction process and a bill that would accelerate enforcement of an existing camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.
USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.
Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.
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