September 09, 2022

Bank of America announced a new mortgage product that would allow first-time homebuyers to purchase a home with no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and zero closing costs. The Community Affordable Loan Solution aims to bolster homeownership among communities that have historically faced barriers and to help Black and Latinx families in particular build wealth over time. It will launch in cities with predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods but is open to all who are eligible.

A New York City Housing Authority complex found elevated arsenic levels in the drinking water. The Jacob Riis housing complex received complaints from residents who said the water was cloudy or yellow and tested the water at a private lab. Although the results from the lab showed elevated arsenic levels, subsequent tests conducted by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection found no arsenic. The complex is distributing bottled water as the city’s housing authority waits for additional pending water tests to confirm arsenic levels.

As students return for the new school year, many teachers are finding it difficult to secure affordable housing. In Milpitas, California, school district officials sent parents a form asking how many rooms they have available and how much they would charge for rent. This new approach garnered 53 responses from parents and is a part of the district’s broader efforts to address affordability challenges.

Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and three other California cities have some of the biggest millennial-renter wage gaps in the country, with LA being the worst, according to one analysis. In LA in 2020, millennial renters made a median wage of $36,649 but needed an average wage of $72,560 to pay for a one-bedroom rental.