Biden-Harris Administration Releases Action Plan to Address Racial and Ethnic Bias in Home Valuations

Philadelphia, March 23, 2022—For decades, bias in home valuations has limited the ability of Black and brown families to fully benefit from enjoying the financial returns of homeownership. Right now, the median white family holds eight times the wealth of the average Black family and five times the wealth of the average Latino family. Bias in the home valuation process has only exacerbated this problem.

To address racial discrimination in the housing market, President Biden charged Secretary Fudge and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice with launching the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Task Force, a first-of-its-kind interagency effort to address inequity in home appraisals, and with conducting rulemaking to aggressively combat housing discrimination.

This week, the PAVE Task Force delivered a final Action Plan to the President that represents the most wide-ranging set of reforms ever put forward to advance equity in the home appraisal process. The Action Plan:

• Validates individual stories by citing evidence about the extent of appraisal bias and how it contributes to the homeownership gap and undervaluation of properties owned by families of color.
• Affirms that appraisal bias is a serious issue that results in the loss of wealth over time for individuals and neighborhoods.
• Finalizes a roadmap of actions for consumers, industry, and policy makers to address the undervaluing of properties through better policies, better resources, and better data.

This work will have immediate and long-lasting effects that help improve the financial well-being of Black and brown homebuyers and their families.

To read the full PAVE Task Force Action Plan, visit PAVE.hud.gov.

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