The state's Covenant Homeownership Program will provide closing cost and down payment assistance for home purchasers in the form of loans with 0 percent interest. The catch? Applicants must belong to a racial or ethnic class, with some groups identified by the program as black, hispanic, or Native American.
The program will provide loans of up to $150,000 to potential minority homeowners- assistance that could save a homebuyer tens of thousands of dollars in interest that ineligible purchasers would have to pay, according to Fox News.
A study underlining the program's supporting law, passed in 2023, cites Washington's alleged history of discrimination in enshrining the privileges for selected groups, according to KOMO-TV.
“The Covenant Homeownership Act acknowledges the State government’s role as both an active and passive participant in generations of discriminatory policies and practices that created barriers to credit and homeownership for historically marginalized communities in Washington and that these discriminatory actions continue to impact these communities today."
The program contains preconditions, even for those that qualify on the basis of race and ethnicity. Applicants must have relatives who lived in Washington before 1968, a characteristic that the state deems equivalent to having "deep roots" in the community.
A website for the discriminatory program openly admits that the classes eligible for homeownership assistance by the state are selective.
"The Covenant program’s initial eligibility criteria are intentionally narrowly tailored. While many racial, ethnic and religious groups in Washington were subject to unjust and egregious housing discrimination, the Covenant program considers not only this history but also its current impacts." The director of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission defended the program's discrimination in a statement provided to the Seattle Times, according to Fox.
"Race-neutral approaches aren’t closing the racial homeownership gap," Steve Walker said of Washington's homeownership situation.
Black, Hispanic, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Korean or Asian American candidates are eligible for the program's assistance.
Data indicates that Washington is one of many American states in which first-time homeownership is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Nearly 84 percent of households in the Pacific Northwest cannot afford a median-priced new home in the state, according to the Building Industry Association of Washington.
Democrats were broadly supportive of the law backing the program in a 2023 vote in the state legislature, with Republicans voting against.
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