MINNEAPOLIS — The racial disparity between Black and white homeowners persists and Minnesota has one of the largest gaps in the country.
Two years ago, that prompted some of the area's most prominent realtors to publicly apologize for perpetuating the problem.
The Minneapolis Area Realtors (MAR) announced four policy recommendations back then, most of which the group has made good on. And there's even a first-of-its-kind state program to specifically help first-generation home buyers to start closing that gap.
"The conversations that were needed are really starting to happen now to help move us forward," said MAR President Jamar Hardy.
In October of 2022, the group admitted the home buying system is rooted in racism and that discriminatory industry practices perpetuated the problem, leading to the state's 50% gap between white and Black homeowners - the largest in the country.
"What do you think were some of the most detrimental decisions over the last decades that led to this gap in home ownerships," asked KARE 11 Reporter Jennifer Hoff. "It's the intentionality of breaking up affluent communities of color," said Hardy. "That's what really didn't allow the growth in a very natural way of our diverse communities because we are a very diverse state, but if you look within those numbers, you can't tell."
The group has since implemented several policies including:
- Supporting the removal of any personally identifiable information from the housing transaction process to help eliminate bias – whether intentional or unintentional
- Updating residential zoning regulations to reduce the cost of housing development
- Requiring MAR Board leadership to complete diversity and anti-bias training
"You start understanding that real estate really had a big part of the way we see communities built right now, positively and negatively, and we really need to own that part of history and lead our communities forward to right size that history," said Hardy.
Hardy also helped lead the state to create a groundbreaking policy last year to help first-generation home buyers with a down payment. It's a $30,000 boost for some 5,000 applicants who don't have generational wealth to draw on. The program is expected to launch in May of 2024.
The latest data in 2021 from MAR already is showing a slight increase in homeownership rates by race across the metro. American Indian and Alaska Native made the biggest jump by about 3.4%.
As for the housing market, Hardy says the spring season is in full swing, thanks to higher sales and more listings that he hopes will be accessible to even more buyers.
"For some of us, we only do this once in a lifetime, so make sure that's a great experience for you," said Hardy.
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