Susan Rice is taking up the mantle of fighting housing inequity, serving as co-chair for a task force studying inequity in home appraisals.
The former U.N. ambassador and Obama administration national security advisor will lead the new interagency task force along with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, HousingWire reported Thursday.
The Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity task force, which will also include the secretaries of Agriculture, Labor, Education and Veterans Affairs, is expected to deliver a report to President Biden within six months, according to HousingWire.
The task force will then help guide policy for agencies to implement to combat inequity and the undervaluing of homes, creating “a roadmap of actions” for consumers, industry stakeholders and government agencies to take to fight against problems within the appraisal industry, according to a HUD spokesperson.
Rice also serves as director of the Domestic Policy Council, where she plays an influential role in the Biden administration’s efforts to advance equity and racial justice issues beyond the housing industry.
The trade group the Appraisal Institute first recognized the presence of possible “unconscious valuation bias” within the industry last year. The institute promised to increase training around unconscious bias and hire more minority field employees.
A 2018 study by the Brookings Institution estimated that owner-occupied homes in Black neighborhoods are undervalued by an average of $48,000.
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[HousingWire] — Holden Walter-Warner