In Boston and across the Commonwealth, we are facing an unprecedented housing affordability crisis. This is coupled with the existence of a racial homeownership gap that is responsible for perpetuating major inequities for people of color. These massive racial disparities have an impact on both the vitality of our neighborhoods and asset building for families.
In order to help address these challenges, the Muncey Group partnered with Compass Working Capital to create the Welcome Home Fund, which aims to address the persistent and systemic inequities that make owning a home out of reach for many families of color in Massachusetts.
Leading up to the creation of the fund, I embarked on a three-month listening tour with community leaders. In all of those conversations, it became clear that unrestricted financial assistance with down payments and closing costs were a major obstacle for most first-generation home buyers.
With that in mind, the Welcome Home Fund was created to provide direct financial grants to cover down payments for first-time homebuyers in Compass Working Capital’s program, which primarily serves single mothers of color.
We’ve since awarded $100,000 in grants to five families for down payment and closing costs — four have already found their homes and a fifth is in the midst of their search.
The results have already been transformative. These women not only have homes to raise their families in, they are on a path toward developing generational wealth that has been denied to so many Black families through systemic racism. Now, our hope is to expand the Fund to help even more people.
We are inviting the Massachusetts real estate community to join us in our efforts to close the racial wealth and homeownership gap through this Fund. Together, we can make our state a place where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their goal of purchasing a home.
If you’d like to learn more, donate, or receive updates on the fund, please reach out to Josh.Muncey@Compass.com.
— Josh Muncey, team leader, The Muncey Group
