ATLANTA, GA – The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Building Black Wealth Tour picked up steam in Atlanta on November 16, as more than 650 people participated in the event at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. In more than 100 cities, seminars and one-on-one sessions have empowered communities with steps towards homeownership, property investment, starting a business, and other wealth-building opportunities.
The Black Wealth Tour brings experts in multiple fields, such as real estate, inheritance, investing, and personal finance, offering counseling, valuable insights, and practical advice to Black communities nationwide. The NAREB Building Black Wealth Tour aims to significantly reduce the wealth gap, increase homeownership, and promote family economic security within the Black community by focusing on economic empowerment.
In Atlanta, there was record participation from the Black community. In the one-on-one counseling sessions, 371 people learned about real estate investing, 255 heard from a HUD counselor, 218 met with a real estate/estate planning lawyer, 205 talked with a mortgage lender, and 176 met with a NAREB real estate agent/broker known as a Realtist.
“This was an extraordinary turnout by the Atlanta Black community,” said Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose. “It demonstrates how dialed-in families and individuals are about pursuing homeownership and building intergenerational wealth. It also underscores that the NAREB Building Black Wealth Tour continues to be attractive after a year. People want to learn how to be put on a path toward building wealth and family economic security.”
In addition to Dr. Rose, among those speaking at the event were Bishop Craig Worsham, NAREB National Director Faith-based & Community Partnerships; Jazzmin Cobble, Mayor of Stonecrest, GA; Cynthia Crawford, President Metro South Atlanta Realtists; Archie Emerson, President of Empire Board of Realtists; and Wiley S. Adams, President, National Bar Association.
Dr. Rose said that due to higher interest rates, inventory shortage, and inflation, mortgage applications in Black communities are down 20%. The homeownership rate among Black households was 45.7% in 2023, a sharp contrast to the 74.3% among White households and a significant drop from its peak of 49% in 2004. However, approximately two million Blacks can qualify for mortgages but haven’t. Another 5.4 million are close to that status.
“We aim to engage these individuals and families,” said Dr. Rose. “We want to empower them, to facilitate their efforts to gain wealth.”
Through various workshops, sessions, and counseling, NAREB Black Wealth Tour attendees are equipped with the knowledge crucial for building wealth. NAREB takes wealth-building knowledge into communities, where families and individuals can use the information to chart new futures, including intergenerational wealth and benefits from homeownership.
“The NAREB Black Wealth Tour is more than a series of events – it catalyzes change,” Dr. Rose said. “For too long, the Black community has lacked other communities’ resources and intergenerational wealth. NAREB seeks to end these disparities and help Black communities thrive.”
At each event, there are a series of seminars and sessions, engagements such as:
- What to do with Big Momma’s House?
- ABCs of Homebuying
- Real Estate Investing
- Down Payment Assistance
- Explore Careers in Real Estate
- Free Career Fair
- Free Health Screenings
- One On Ones with Real Estate Attorneys
- One On Ones with Housing Counselors
The collaboration presenting the Wealth Tour has included Church Of God In Christ, Inc., the African American Mayors Association, the National Bar Association, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Major sponsors include Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae, and Rate. The HUD-approved NID Housing Counseling Agency has provided housing counseling services and free credit reports at the events.
“The time for action on Black Wealth is now,” said Dr. Rose. “NAREB is urging our Black communities to take the journey towards wealth. Come to our events in your city and learn what you need to purchase a home. We are helping Black families overcome the biased public policies and private practices that created the vast wealth gap in America today.”
(For print or broadcast interviews with NAREB President Courtney Johnson Rose, contact Michael Frisby, Mike@frisbyassociates.com/202-625-4328)
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE BROKERS
NAREB was formed in 1947 to secure equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or color. NAREB has advocated for legislation and supported or instigated legal challenges that ensure fair housing, sustainable homeownership, and access to credit for Black Americans. Simultaneously, NAREB advocates for and promotes access to business opportunities for Black real estate professionals in each real estate discipline. From the past to the present, NAREB remains an association that is proud of its history, dedicated to its chosen struggle, and unrelenting in its pursuit of the REALTIST®’s mission/vision embedded goal, “Democracy in Housing.”
