Norfolk, state housing groups to host homebuying seminar today
Three agencies will host an annual homeownership seminar today, as new reports suggest that owning a home is falling out of reach for more people.
The free seminar will be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk. It will be hosted by a statewide housing group and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Norfolk Department of Housing and Community Development.
There will be three panels on preparing for ownership, finding the right home and discussions about lenders, mortgages and loans, according to a release from the city.
“Our goal is to reach the first-time homebuyer,” said LaShawn Fortes with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority in an email. “90% of the clients we serve are minority lowto moderate income buyers who never thought they could achieve homeownership.”
Nearly half of minority households are homeowners while nearly three out of four white households own their home — this gap being the 22nd largest across the U.S. major metro areas, according to a study by Construction Coverage released Tuesday.
This is a national trend with white homeownership reaching 73% in 2021 while minority homeownership crossed above 50% for the first time since 2007 as low interest rates made mortgages more obtainable, according to the study.
However, the Black homeownership rate fell from 45.3% in 2020 to 44.7 % in the first quarter of 2022, according to the 2022 National Association of Real Estate Brokers state of housing in Black America report.
Norfolk has been hosting homebuying seminars for 22 years, according to Fortes.
The goal of the seminar is “to demystify the homebuying process, educate families on the importance of homeownership, wealth creation and maintaining and sustaining that home long term,” Fortes said.
“Also, we want them to know there is help through homeownership counseling agencies like HomeNet that can sit down with them and determine where they are to determine the steps they will need to take to achieve homeownership so they can access competitive mortgage products and rates.”
Owning a home is the largest source of wealth for families, according to the National Association of Realtors and Federal Reserve Board 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances.