NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the housing market continues to grow and home prices soar, Vice President Kamala Harris wants to make sure all homeowners have a fair chance of listing their home on the market.
The Vice President said racial discrimination when appraising homes is a growing issue and it continues to hurt more homeowners of color financially.
Harris said federal agencies are now taking new steps to prevent this by proposing a rule that would make sure automated formulas used to price housing are fair. It comes a year after the administration took action to stop appraisers from undervaluing homes of underrepresented groups, especially Black homeowners.
Low appraisals can cause a number of issues for families making it harder for them to build wealth and access home equity lines of credit, which only worsens racial inequality.
In one national case, a Black homeowner's home appraisal doubled after she declined to disclose her race and removed family photos in the home.
The Biden administration is also having federal agencies make it easier for home buyers to appeal racial bias in appraisals and is providing the public with more data in order to increase transparency.
In June 2021, President Joe Biden announced the formation of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity, known as PAVE, to address the challenge of bias in appraisals.
