B4 • Friday, June 7, 2024
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THE GARDEN ISLAND
FAIR HOUSING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ist terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, coupled with the lack of federal penalties for those who violated the act, left it without teeth for more than a century, but today, that early law remains on the books as a foundation. “The law is very clear,” Rice said. “You cannot consider a person’s race in any way shape or form in housing.”
Debra Kamin THE NEW YORK TIMES A federal fair-housing law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, ethnicity, religion and other factors, like gender identity and disability. That applies to any number of scenarios, in which such discrimination has occurred: a homeowner refusing to negotiate a sale; a landlord failing to make repairs; a mortgage lender denying a loan. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968, days after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The law, initially focused on racial discrimination, was the linchpin of the broader Civil Rights Act of 1968 and was later expanded to include other factors. Yet complaints of discrimination remain about everything from prejudiced home appraisals to racial steering. In 2022, there were more than 33,000 fair housing complaints received by organizations across the country. A three-year investigative project from Newsday, published in 2019, found that Black homebuyers experience discrimination with nearly half of the real estate agents and brokers they employ; a multiyear investigation a decade earlier conducted by the National Fair Housing Alliance found that 87 percent of real estate agents participated in racial steering, opting to only show their clients homes in neighborhoods where most of the neighbors were of their same race. “The way real estate agents engage in housing discrimination has gotten a lot more subtle but it
Mortgage rates dip as economic outlook remains unclear Jeff Ostrowski BANKRATE.COM Mortgage rates fell this week, with the average 30-year fixed loan retreating to 7.08 percent, according to Bankrate’s latest survey of large lenders. Rates have bounced around this year, as the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited rate cuts grows cloudier. The 15-year rate dropped to 6.38 percent and the 30-year jumbo to 7.13 percent. The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.29 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way for you to reduce your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees a lender charges to create, review and process your loan. Monthly mortgage payment at today’s rates: $2,187 The national median family income for 2024 is $97,800, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in April 2024 was $407,600, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Based on a 20 percent down payment and a 7.08 percent mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,187 amounts to 27 percent of the typical family’s monthly income. Mortgage rates are tied to inflation. In a bit of good news, inflation is cooling slightly. The U.S. Labor Department said in mid-May that the inflation rate had dipped to 3.4 percent. That heartened investors, but it’s unclear whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates any time soon. The central bank left rates unchanged in May — and the latest numbers show inflation is still well above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Loan applications fell 5.2 percent this week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, while home prices remain elevated. While real estate agents are reporting upticks in inventory, many markets still don’t have enough affordably priced listings to meet demand.
agencies that handle employment discrimination, so don’t be surprised if you are directed to an employment discrimination office while seeking assistance. What obligations do real estate agents have under fair housing law?
Real estate agents are bound not to discriminate with their clients, and they are also required If I believe I’ve been to ensure they aren’t assisting discriminated against, any clients who wish to discrimiwhat should I do? nate, either. So if an agent repThere are two entities you can resents a seller, and that seller contact: the U.S. Department of refuses to offer their home to a Housing and Urban Development Black person, both the seller and (HUD), and your state or local fair the agent can be held accounthousing organization. able for civil rights violations. HUD allows anyone who be“If you’re a real estate profeslieves they have been a victim of sional and you think there is a pohousing discrimination to make a tential violation of the law, you report online, by phone or by need to notify your broker or snail mail, and its office of Fair your boss, and you need to notify TONY CENICOLA / THE NEW YORK TIMES Housing and Equal Opportunity the seller involved. You have to will investigate if they suspect let the seller know: This is what Liberty Walk at Fort Monmouth in Oceanport, N.J., on Oct. 6, your civil rights could have been the law says and you cannot en2023. Discrimination in housing is illegal, and if you feel you’ve violated. gage in discrimination,” Rice said. been a victim of racism during your housing search, there are All states are required to comThe agent is further required to resources that can help. inform the seller that they will not ply with the federal Fair Housing represent them if they show disadded as another protected cate- Act, and most states have their is definitely still existent,” said own fair housing laws as well. Lisa Rice, president of the Nagory in 1974. criminatory intent. That can HUD maintains an online dataLandlords and home sellers mean firing a client or backing out tional Fair Housing Alliance. “A who refuse to offer housing to lot of real estate agents are very base of state and local Fair Hous- of a sale. people based on race can be Agents who work with clients misguided and they’re not pro ing Assistance Program offices, charged civil damages, and real who discriminate can have their fair housing in their heart.” and encourages anyone who beestate agents who assist them real estate licenses revoked by lieves they have been discrimiWho is protected under can be liable as well. the state real estate commission, nated against in the housing the Fair Housing Act? and Rice added that homebuyers process to also contact the Are there other laws on the agency in the state where the inci- who believe their agents have The fair-housing law placed a books about fair housing? acted in a discriminatory way are sweeping prohibition on all acts dent occurred. Yes, and they’re more than 150 also encouraged to make a report of discrimination related to the Many states and cities also to the state real estate board in home buying and renting process, years old. The Federal Civil Rights work with local nonprofits and Act of 1866, the first civil rights addition to HUD and their local making prejudicial treatment civil rights groups that take fair law in the United States, has pro- housing complaints and can help fair housing office. based on race, religion or na••• tional origin a crime. Violators hibited discrimination in housing those in need connect with legal This article originally appeared in can be fined tens of thousands of because of race or color for more counsel. Fair housing organizaThe New York Times. dollars, or more. Gender was than a century. The spread of rac- tions often work in tandem with
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