Dear friend,

Welcome to Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Land and Housing Program at New America. This month, we helped to convene a virtual conference on land tenure impact evaluations, as part of the USAID Integrated Natural Resource Management project. We also continued to work towards improving eviction data in the United States, collaborating with our research, advocacy, and local government partners across the country.

As we wind down the year, here's what else we've been up to:

What We're Doing

The Racial Homeownership Gap: Financing Options for Communities of Color

From tax incentives for owning a home to expanding access to low-cost mortgage loans issued by federal agencies, the federal government has long promoted homeownership as a vehicle for families across the U.S. to build wealth. But discriminatory housing policies such as redlining and the use of racial covenants also ensured that the mortgage financing needed for most families to own a home would only be available to some families—namely white families.

While these practices have been outlawed, what remains today is a financing system that was not built for and does not adequately serve the families it traditionally excluded: primarily, low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities of color. To address these gaps, banks, credit unions, local governments, and community-based organizations have developed innovative financial products to increase access to homeownership in these communities.

To better understand these options, the Chicago Community Trust commissioned FLH to explore financial products designed to overcome a prevalent barrier to homeownership: affordability in the private market. You can read the final report here, and can also check out a related piece in The Thread, "Breaking the Homeownership Catch-22 for Communities of Color," here. 

Responding to the Federal Housing Administration on Increasing Access to Small Dollar Mortgages

Twenty percent of owner-occupied homes in the United States are valued below $100,000. These relatively low-cost homes can provide lower-income and first-time homebuyers a critical "first rung" on America’s wealth-building ladder. And yet, these homes are increasingly inaccessible for these buyers, as traditional mortgage financing for “small dollar” homes has become increasingly difficult to access. 

Along with the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM) at Winston-Salem State University, we submitted a response to the Federal Housing Administration’s Request for Information on facilitating access to small dollar mortgages through single-family mortgage insurance programs. 

Our joint response was informed by a 2021 report exploring whether small dollar homes are increasingly out of reach in a local housing market—Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

As the Pandemic Recedes, Foreclosures Surge to Pre-Pandemic Levels

After a two-year lull, the U.S. foreclosure rate is surging. Foreclosure filings are a key indicator of housing insecurity, and recent data shows a 167 percent increase in foreclosure filings from last year. 

FLH Fellow Dona Stewart explores the latest foreclosure data within the context of pandemic era homeowner protections and a strong housing market characterized by rising prices. Dona also discusses how the foreclosure environment in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash differs from the one we see today, and how that may be impacting the outcome of foreclosure proceedings for homeowners.  

Read Dona’s blog post here. 

What We're Reading

FLH staff share what has stood out to them lately on land, housing, and property rights in the U.S. and internationally.

Yuliya Panfil

It’s Public Land. But the Public Can’t Reach It.: This New York Times article chronicles the rise of OnX, a navigation app that for the first time reveals public land situated within privately held property, largely in the American West. The app was developed largely for use by outdoor enthusiasts and hunters—because, as the article notes, "hunters, more than any other type of outdoor recreationist, need to be aware of whose property they are on." But in illuminating vast swaths of public land that are effectively appropriated by surrounding private property, the app has sparked litigation and debate around the limits of private property ownership, and the tensions between private land and public access. It's an example of a phenomenon we see the world over—by making the invisible, visible, maps can force communities to reckon with previously hidden iniquities and transgressions.   

Sabiha Zainulbhai

The Obvious Answer to Homelessness: In an Atlantic cover story, Jerusalem Demsas debunks commonly-held myths of the root causes of homelessness, and cuts to two major factors at the crux of the crisis: rent prices and vacancy rates. Across U.S. cities, the number of homeless people is higher where there’s a lower vacancy rate and higher median rents. For too long, housing policy has been dominated by local homeowners opposed to building new housing and homelessness has been relegated to local leaders chasing political expediency. Demsas reminds us that in order to pursue evidence-based solutions to our housing crisis, we need to grapple with its evidence-based causes.

Tim Robustelli

Extreme floods expose the flaws in FEMA’s risk maps: Extreme flooding is increasingly common across the United States, as climate change leads to more intense rainfall and flash floods. Many communities—both urban and rural—remain wholly unprepared for these disasters, which threaten lives and severely damage homes and businesses. In large part, that’s because local officials and residents rely on federal flood risk assessments that have failed to keep up with the realities of our warming climate. Developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, these flood maps show risk for 1-in-100 year floods, but critics assert that such severe events are increasing in frequency. The maps also inadequately capture the risk of pluvial flooding, which comes with heavy rainfall, to lives and property. Consequently, there’s now a major gap in actual risk and Americans’ understanding of these disasters and their preparedness. As this impactful Washington Post article suggests, the U.S. needs improved risk assessment to both build resilience to severe flooding and better recovery after a disaster strikes.

Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Reach out to us at FLH@NewAmerica.org or tag us at @FLHatNewAmerica.

Until next month, the FLH Team.

About New America

New America is dedicated to renewing the promise of America, bringing us closer to our nation’s highest ideals. We’re a different kind of think tank: one dedicated to public problem solving. Our team of visionary researchers, changemakers, technologists, and storytellers study and seize the opportunities presented by dramatic social and technological change. We search for powerful ideas, wherever they are, and collaborate with civic innovators around the world to develop evidence-based solutions.

The Future of Land and Housing Program at New America aims to help solve today’s land and housing rights challenges, both in the United States and internationally. Through our research and writing, convening, and collaboration with civic innovators worldwide, we strive to connect new constituencies, shed light on underreported issues, and implement creative approaches in the property rights space.

You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive newsletters from New America. Click to update your subscription preferences or unsubscribe from all New America newsletters.