African-American homeownership hasn't recovered since housing crisis because of unfair treatment: HUD chief
African-American homeownership has fallen in the first quarter of this year to its lowest level on record, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson told FOX Business that black Americans homeownership hasn't recovered from the housing crisis because of the unfair treatment they’ve endured over time.
“The homeownership rate for blacks in this country is lower now than it was before the housing crisis more than a decade ago because minorities were taken advantage of severely,” he said during an interview on FOX Business’ “Bulls & Bears” Wednesday.
Analysts have attributed the 8.6 percentage point drop in the African-American homeownership rate to black communities struggling to recover from the housing crisis.
“You're not doing anybody a favor if you put them in a house that they can't afford. They lose the house, their credit and their future possibilities,” Carson said.
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President Trump signed an executive order establishing a White House panel that will work to eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable housing. The White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing Development, chaired by Carson, will alleviate the restrictive zoning and building regulations, boost housing supply and lower cost.
“What we are doing is we just dedicate it $43 million to housing counseling to help people get on the right track,” Carson said. “Doing an enormous amount of activity around affordable housing because housing prices are escalating much faster than people's income.”