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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 02/21/21
    First Name: Jeffrey
    Last Name: Yasskin
    Email: jyasskin@gmail.com
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: None

  • Comment

    I live in Portland, OR where I have seen how rising and unequal home values have affected the amount of affordable housing and the growing racial wealth gap. It's especially horrifying when Black homeowners are deprived of the full value of their appreciated investment because of racist appraisers and appraisal techniques.

    I support the FHFA implementing the following:

    1. Standardized measures. Adopt new smartphone applications that provide more consistent estimates of gross living area, number of rooms, and home amenities.

    2. Define neighborhoods. Modernize the uniform appraisal form to automatically define neighborhood boundaries and characteristics to decrease racial and class bias in neighborhood definitions.

    3. Change comparative method. Reform the comparable sales approach and/or introduce an alternative method that does not rely on past sales which are directly tied to racist redlining practices.

    4. Democratize data. Make the federal data on appraisals available so that individuals and communities can identify experiences of racial and class discrimination.

    5. Provide federal mortgages. Partner with other governmental agencies to address the legacy of redlining by providing affordable federal mortgages based on family wealth and income.