The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) follows up their record-setting $16 billion in federal funding and investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and $138 million in awards grants for 18 state housing agencies to create affordable homes and expand support services for adults living with disabilities by expanding its counseling services, forming a new partnership with Zillow to attract the next generation of homebuyers, and issuing a new final rule allowing additional flexibilities to housing counseling agencies when delivering critical services.
“Every day, HUD’s counselors provide thousands of Americans with trusted advice about buying a home, avoiding foreclosure, and locating and sustaining affordable housing. But we know we can help even more people,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Today’s announcements will help us do just that. Together, we will reach a new generation of homeowners, help more families build generational wealth, and continue our work to help Americans historically left out of the homebuying process.”
Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon added, “We’re excited to raise awareness about the availability and benefits of housing counselling. These initiatives make it easier for households to access the assistance they need to navigate the homebuying process or to secure safe, affordable and stable housing.”
HUD Brings in Zillow to Expand Their Reach
Zillow’s 217 million monthly visitors will now see “Let’s Make Home the Goal” advertisements on its digital platforms. The multi-year campaign was created to generate awareness of the availability and benefits of pre-purchase housing counseling provided by HUD-certified counselors, and designed to reach communities of color that have historically faced more difficulties with the homebuying process due to systemic barriers. Allowing those communities to access quality housing counseling services will help to bridge the racial homeownership and knowledge gap for first-time homebuyers and communities of color seeking to buy a home and build generational wealth.
The “Let’s Make Home the Goal” campaign was launched in June 2023 and has reached nearly five million diverse, prospective homebuyers in 15 media markets. This year’s initiative, with the support of Zillow, intends to reach more than eight million potential homeowners across 42 media markets.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zillow to expand our reach and tout the importance of comprehensive housing counseling services,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Housing Counseling David Berenbaum. “This collaboration allows us to use Zillow’s innovative platform, ensuring that more individuals and families receive the support they need to achieve their housing goals.”
Jennifer Butler, VP of Government Affairs at Zillow commented, “At Zillow, we are committed to getting more people home. We were founded with a focus on transparency and providing access to the data and information needed to find housing. We’re expanding on that foundation by helping consumers get connected to the right resources, helping to reduce the barriers they face to securing affordable housing. Partnering with HUD on their ‘Let’s Make Home the Goal’ campaign and increasing access to quality credit counseling services is an important step to help bridge the homeownership gap and build generational wealth for more families.”
New Rule to Expand Counseling Offerings
Effective October 16, the Modernizing the Delivery of Housing Counseling Services final rule now allows HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to use alternative communication methods, such as meeting virtually and by phone, to engage and educate homebuyers and renters seeking support. This will increase accessibility for people who have problems using in-person services for a variety of reasons, such as linguistic, physical, or geographic limitations, or barriers such as transportation and childcare costs. This is also more cost effective for the housing counseling agencies, removing the need for maintaining multiple facilities for in-person meetings. Agencies that are not able to provide these options are required to refer impacted clients to other agencies. Feedback from the industry and public indicated an overwhelming preference to be able to provide online education and counseling virtually or by telephone.
To locate a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency nationwide, please visit www.hud.gov/findacounselor.
