Making low-income and minority homeownership work: non-profit intermediary networks in the Chicago region

Abstract

There is renewed political interest in promoting minority homeownership to reduce racial wealth gaps in the United States. In this paper, I call for a policy focus on sustained long-term home-buyer facilitation that could potentially mitigate the multi-faceted risks for low-income and minority households in buying homes, sustaining ownership, and negotiating tenure transitions. I offer an analysis of institutional intermediary structures in a post-crisis community development context that mediates the different stages of homeownership in the Chicago region. Analysis of four qualitative case studies shows that three types of institutions—housing institutions, community-based anchor organisations, and faith-based institutions form robust networks to provide systems of social support that go beyond housing and influence daily life experiences and destabilising life events for marginalised groups. This system of support is crucial as it impacts wealth-building trajectories for marginalised groups. Finally, my research also investigates the fragmentation and gaps in the support networks and makes a case for strengthening multi-scalar community support before rolling out subsidies for homeownership.