HUD House Party In Chicago Spotlights “Make Home the Goal Campaign,” Empowering Pathways to Homeownership
Chicago hosts inaugural regional House Party: promoting homeownership, dispelling myths, amplifying federal programs.
WASHINGTON - To close out June’s National Homeownership Month, Chicago-area residents are invited to the House Party, an in-person event to amplify the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) commitment to helping more Americans realize their dream of homeownership. HUD representatives will join the Chicago Kings of House Takeover at Daley Center Plaza Friday, June 30, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., 50 W. Washington Street.
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge launched “Let’s Make Home the Goal,” a nationwide, multi-year campaign to generate awareness of the availability and benefits of pre-purchase housing counseling provided by HUD-certified housing counselors. The campaign is designed to reach communities of color that have historically faced more difficulties with the homebuying process due to systemic barriers. Through advertising, events, and public service announcements, “Let’s Make Home the Goal” will reach nearly one million prospective homebuyers in thirteen states, with plans to expand to other markets in the future.
The event in Chicago, featuring the area’s top DJs spinning house music will help encourage young adults who wish to become homeowners but feel the barriers are too steep, especially in communities of color.
“We want to ensure that Chicagoans who wish to own a home have access to the resources and tools they need,” said HUD Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane M. Shelley. As we wrap up National Homeownership Month, we reflect on the importance of homeownership as a tool for wealth-building and stability. HUD is dedicated to eliminating barriers and putting people on the path to homeownership.”
At the beginning of the month, Secretary Fudge hosted a HUD House Party on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Individuals and families joined the free event featuring live music, food and information about housing counseling, financial education, down payment assistance and FHA mortgage loans to assist aspiring homeowners. Over the course of the next few months, HUD field and regional offices throughout the country will host more of these house parties to ensure that people have what they need to start the homebuying process.
Homeownership is the primary source of generational wealth for families in the United States and is central to closing the wealth gap for Black, Indigenous, and persons of color (BIPOC) communities. According to U.S. Census data, the homeownership rate for Black Americans is nearly 30 percentage points lower than that of White Americans. Similar gaps exist between white Americans and all other BIPOC groups as well. HUD is strengthening its commitment to homeownership by increasing opportunities and removing barriers for first-time, low- and moderate-income homebuyers and communities of color. These actions will help individuals and families attain the stability and wealth-building potential of homeownership.
Research shows that young adult homeownership has been in decline since the 1960s. The Urban Institute predicts that this pattern will continue for several decades, but the decline will be even more dramatic for African Americans. Through these house parties, HUD plans to address myths on debt and credit as well as share information on how federal programs can assist those who view homeownership as an impossibility.