Economics

National Conference Seeks to Raise Black Home Ownership Rates

Published

10 years ago

February 11, 2016

Rebuilding wealth among Black Americans through homeownership is the focus of the Mid-Winter Regional Conferences to be convened by National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB).

Homeownership rates continue to stagnate from a high of approximately 49 percent prior to the recent, economically-disabling recession that started in 2006, to a now intractable low of 42 percent.

Strategy sessions encouraging Black Americans to become homeowners, coupled with a laser-focused advocacy campaign addressing public policies, private practices and regulations obstructing fair mortgage lending will be covered at NAREB’s first of four national hub conferences scheduled.

The theme of the conference is “Rebuilding Black Wealth Through Homeownership,” runs Feb. 18-20, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1800 Powell St. in Emeryville.

“NAREB is taking the lead to re-build Black wealth through homeownership. NAREB’s goal is to increase homeownership for Black Americans by two million in five years,” said Ron Cooper, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) which has been fighting for Democracy in Housing for Black Americans and professionals in the real estate industry since its founding in 1947.

Latest available mortgage lending data for Oakland indicates that of the 2,112 loans made in 2014, only 67, or 3.2 percent (3.2 percent) of those loans were granted to Black American purchasers; who represented 27 percent (27 percent) of the city’s population.

The report also noted that the average loan amount in Oakland in 2014 was nearly $400,000.

“The situation in Oakland is not unlike other parts of the country. NAREB’s mission is to ensure that Black Americans and others adversely affected by the devastating economic meltdown have the opportunity to rebuild their economic legacy that was destroyed or drastically diminished during the nation’s near financial collapse, Cooper added.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, NAREB is convening Community Wealth Building Day at the Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank O’Gawa Plaza. The free event is open to the public to help Black Americans learn why owning a home can positively change their financial futures.

Also, there will be educational sessions designed to help residents better understand the home buying process and how to sustain a newly purchased home.

The Community Wealth Building Day culminates NAREB’S 2016 Mid-Winter Regional Conferences; this year being held in four hub cities. The three-day professional real estate conferences are being held in: Oakland (February 18-20); Memphis, TN ((March 10-12); Philadelphia, PA (April 7-9), and Chicago (April 21-23).

For more information and to register for the professional real estate conferences, visit www.nareb.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 11 = 17, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 11 – 17, 2026

Published

3 days ago

February 16, 2026

Oakland Post

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Business

California Launches Study on Mileage Tax to Potentially Replace Gas Tax as Republicans Push Back

Under current law, California depends heavily on revenue from the gas tax to fund roads, highways, and infrastructure, but those revenues are projected to shrink as electric vehicle use grows and overall gasoline consumption drops. The mileage study would look at a “road charge” system where drivers pay based on how many miles they drive, rather than how much gas they buy.

Published

1 week ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City is the author of AB 1421. File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

California lawmakers are moving forward with a study to explore a mileage-based tax as a potential replacement for the state’s traditional gas tax — a shift supporters say is driven by declining fuel tax revenues as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

The research, tied to Assembly Bill (AB) 1421, would extend and support work by the state’s Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee through 2035.

The bill does not yet enact a new tax. Instead, it extends the study and advisory work until 2035 and would have the Legislature receive findings and recommendations, with a report due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans in the California Legislature have been vocal in their opposition. Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora criticized the proposal.

“We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive,” Flora said. “Piling on another tax right now shows just how out of touch politicians in Sacramento are with the reality working families face.”

The plan has drawn broader GOP criticism from leaders outside the Legislature as well. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called a mileage fee “absolutely outrageous” and said, if elected, he would veto the tax, adding that tracking and charging drivers for every mile is unacceptable.

Supporters say the study is a pragmatic response to long-term funding challenges.

On the Assembly Floor on Jan. 29, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill’s author, said that California’s transportation funding is “becoming less stable, less equitable, and less sustainable as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Drivers using the same roads often pay different amounts for that use,” Wilson continued. “Low income and rural commuters who must drive farther and less efficient vehicles can pay more while others contribute less despite roadway impacts.”

Wilson and other supporters contend that a per-mile road charge could ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to the costs of maintaining roads, regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.