Homeownership is often cited as the main way Americans build family and intergenerational wealth, pride, stability, consumer credit and countless other benefits. But as in other urban areas, Newark’s homeownership rate of just under 25% falls far below the statewide level.
To boost the number of families who own their own homes, the Newark Housing Authority and a national nonprofit mortgage lender are sponsoring workshops Saturday on how people can convert their Section 8 rental vouchers into mortgage subsidies.
The housing authority, a local arm of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, and the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, known as NACA, will host a pair of 4-hour sessions, starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Waterfront, 2 Grafton Ave., a sports complex near the Passaic River in the city’s North Ward.
English and Spanish versions of a flier for the event advise renters, “Become a homeowner: Use your Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher for your mortgage payment.”
The workshops are an extension of an existing program launched in 2022 by the housing authority in conjunction with Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Boston-based NACA, which offers low-interest mortgages with no downpayment or closing costs and qualifications that do not include the borrower’s credit score.
NACA’s founder and CEO, Bruce Marks, is a former Federal Reserve Bank official who grew up in affluent Scarsdale, New York, where he saw wealthy whites take their privilege for granted while Black friends were denied opportunities.
Marx personally hosted a 2023 workshop in Newark for first-time homebuyers of any kind that packed the main ballroom of the Robert Treat Hotel.
The idea of converting rental subsidies into mortgage assistance dates back decades, and the legal framework for HUD and local housing authorities around the country to do just that was granted by Congress and President Bill Clinton under the federal Quality Work and Responsibility Act of 1998
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs promotes the practice statewide as its Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Low homeownership rates among people of color have been attributed to a range of historical factors that include redlining that disqualified whole neighborhoods from mortgage approvals, credit requirements that may have little to do with the ability to pay, and other forms of individual and institutional racism, according to multiple studies by a variety of academic, nonprofit, and government sources dating back years.
Low homeownership rates are particularly true in urban areas, where poverty is often concentrated and perpetuated and where apartment living is inherent regardless of race or income.
The flier for Saturday workshops includes a number for NACA’s Newark office, 973-679-2601, though advance registration is not required.
“Walk-ins are welcome,” it says.
Stories by Steve Strunsky
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