The Justice Department (DOJ) is joining interagency partners across the Biden-Harris administration in highlighting the progress made to ensure that every American who buys a home has the same opportunities to build generational wealth through homeownership. In a released statement, the White House shared highlights of what the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) accomplished over the last year.
One year ago, PAVE, led by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice, released the PAVE Action Plan, the most wide-ranging set of commitments ever announced to advance equity in the home appraisal process.
The DOJ is an engaged member of the task force, working to reduce barriers to homeownership and erode the influence of bias on the entire U.S. economy.
“The Department of Justice celebrates PAVE’s many significant accomplishments over the past year to identify and address illegal discrimination in appraisals,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in the released statement from the White House. “For too long, appraisal bias has created yet another obstacle to homeownership and all the benefits homeownership offers, including financial stability and a path to developing intergenerational wealth. The department remains steadfast in its commitment to combat appraisal discrimination and to promote fair and accurate appraisals for all families, regardless of their race or ethnicity.”
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) also released a statement.
“Appraisal bias and the effect it has on the wealth of communities of color is a critically important issue that merits the comprehensive and thoughtful attention provided by the PAVE Task Force member agencies,” FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said. “Since the release of the action plan one year ago, FDIC staff have been closely coordinating and collaborating with staff from other PAVE member agencies to fulfill the PAVE Action Plan’s commitments and recommendations.
“These efforts are helping to shift the public’s understanding of appraisal bias from a rare event affecting an occasional homeowner to a significant issue that affects wealth formation and opportunities in minority communities nationwide—the same communities that have suffered historically from discrimination, redlining, and disinvestment,” Gruenberg added.