Study Finds Families Leaving HUD Assisted Housing Likelier to Become Homeowners

A recently-released study conducted by University of California, Berkeley of family households with children who leave HUD’s public housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs found that households with children that left public housing assistance saw improvements in the areas they moved to - a significant decline in their neighborhood poverty rate. Although households that exited the HCV program also experienced decreases in their neighborhood poverty, those decreases were smaller than the decline in neighborhood poverty that households remaining in HCV housing had.

"The exploratory findings suggest that when people move out of public housing, they are generally moving to new neighborhoods that have lower poverty rates than the neighborhood of the public housing. However, for voucher tenants leaving housing assistance, their unassisted units are generally in neighborhoods with a similar poverty rate to the neighborhood where they were receiving assistance. This is consistent with previous research showing public housing neighborhoods mostly to have higher poverty rates than voucher tenant neighborhoods.

The persistence of highly concentrated poverty surrounding public housing units speaks to the need for continued place-based investment in the neighborhoods where public housing projects are located, as well as ensuring that those investments do not lead to the displacement of existing residents. Although emphasis on mobility strategies has increased within HUD’s housing assistance programs, it is not realistic to assume that mobility strategies are feasible for every resident in a disinvested neighborhood, nor is it necessarily preferable for low-income people to move out of neighborhoods where they have long-term cultural connections and social ties.

It was also found that for both public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program, participation in the HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program boosted the likelihood of homeownership by approximately 25%. Overall, this research provides valuable insight into how households fare after exiting HUD-assisted housing.

The study examined exited HUD-assisted households with children in 14 U.S. counties, administrative data linked with annual residential address, and tenure data from Infogroup."

Source: HUD Office of Policy Research and Development. Examining the Housing and Neighborhood Trajectories for Former HUD-Assisted Households with Children. Prepared by Alex Ramiller & Carolina Reid, UC Berkeley. March 30, 2023.

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Read the February 22, 2024 HUD User article.

Governor Moore Announces Program to Increase Homeownership Opportunities in Redlined Communities

 

Governor Moore Announces Program to Increase Homeownership Opportunities in Historically Redlined Communities ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 4, 2023) — Governor Wes Moore today announced the UPLIFT (Utilizing Progressive Lending Investments to Finance Transformation) program to increase homeownership opportunities, one of the most powerful drivers of the racial wealth gap, in chronically underinvested communities with a history of redlining. Administered through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, the program will address homes impacted by appraisal gaps by accelerating the pace of new construction and rehabilitation of quality affordable housing in strategically identified communities across Maryland. "Tackling the racial wealth gap is a core priority of the Moore-Miller Administration. We must actively work to reverse decades of disinvestment through good policy decisions and innovative programs like this one," said Gov. Moore. "Maryland will be a leader in these efforts, and we will continue to expand work, wages, and wealth for all Maryland families." UPLIFT builds on the department's past initiatives to create a public-private partnership to invest in disinvested communities. Through the program, selected developers will build, sell, and rehabilitate quality affordable housing in targeted neighborhoods in accordance with design and construction standards that ensure quality, timely production, and accountability. Homes in these communities appraise for less than the cost to build due to patterns of historic disinvestment depressing the home values. UPLIFT funds the difference between the appraised value and the sales price, and over time the new homes will elevate home values and reduce the gap in UPLIFT neighborhoods. Additionally, 25% of the homes in the program will be reserved for households with incomes below the area median income to become homeowners. Funded for $10 million through the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, UPLIFT builds on the department's Homeownership Works (HOW) pilot program, created in 2021. The first phase of the program is investing $10 million into new construction and rehabilitation projects in two Maryland neighborhoods, Johnston Square in Baltimore and Pine Street in Cambridge. On November 15, the first four homes in Johnston Square rehabilitated through the pilot program were celebrated in a ribbon cutting ceremony. The four homes, valued at approximately $24,000 pre-rehabilitation, are now entering the market priced in the low $300,000 range. "We have an opportunity to counteract historic disinvestment in our communities by building vibrant neighborhoods, improving home energy efficiency and quality of life, and building social connections between residents," said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. "This is just the beginning of those efforts, and we will continue to create new opportunities for Maryland homeowners to thrive." UPLIFT projects are required to be located in both a Low-Income Census Tract and in an area designated as a Maryland Sustainable Community. To identify qualifying areas, visit https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=dff652a3d61a4d79abfc64f37be38689&locale=en&findSource=2&find=12455%252C%2520Margaretville%252C%2520New%2520York. To review the UPLIFT draft program guide, visit https://dhcd.maryland.gov/HousingDevelopment/Pages/UPLIFT.aspx. Comments will be accepted through December 29 and can be sent to UPLIFT.DHCD@Maryland.gov. The UPLIFT program application will open in early 2024. # # #

CONTACT: Allison Foster, Director of Communications - allison.foster@maryland.gov Brandi Bottalico, Director, Office of Public Information - brandi.bottalico@maryland.gov