JPMorgan Chase Announces new business and philanthropic commitments to help close the housing affordability gap in Washington D.C. and beyond

June 28, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase announced new philanthropic and expanded business commitments as part of its firmwide approach to addressing the housing affordability gap. This includes:

• New philanthropic commitments totaling $7.65 million to support three nonprofits working to improve housing affordability and stability for underserved households, including Black, Latino, and Hispanic households in Washington D.C.;
  
  
• Expanded Chase Home Lending’s $5,000 Homebuyer grant, a part of its Special Purpose Credit Program (“SPCP”), to include 16 additional markets, including more than 400 majority Black, Hispanic and Latino communities in the Washington D.C. region.

Today’s announcement marks two years into JPMorgan Chase’s $400 million five-year commitment to improve housing affordability and stability for underserved households. Since 2021, JPMorgan Chase has deployed more than $224 million in low-cost loans, equity investments and grants to 153 organizations across the U.S. to help close the housing affordability gap. This work has helped preserve or create more than 12,500 housing units, serve more than 46,000 households, and leverage an additional $680 million in capital.  

The Washington D.C. region’s housing crisis is one of affordability and inventory. According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the region needs 320,000 additional units of housing by 2030 to accommodate burgeoning demand. The result is too many people chasing after too few homes.  Additionally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in Washington D.C., the homeownership rate for Black and Hispanic households is 50% compared to 70% for White households.

New philanthropic commitments support programs that aim to increase the supply of affordable, climate-friendly housing and increase homeownership and wealth for underserved households, including Black, Latino, and Hispanic households in the D.C. region. They include:

• $4.45 million to Coalition for Non-Profit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED). CNHED will lead a collaborative, that includes National Housing Trust, Medici Road, Housing Counseling Services, LISC DC, Mi Casa, and Douglas Community Land Trust, which aims to increase and preserve the supply of affordable, small buildings (<50 housing units) and supporting residents becoming small building owners to build wealth. This commitment is informed by the firm’s participation in the Connecting Capital and Community (3C) initiative led by the Center for Community Investment at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to advance more equitable housing results in five U.S. cities.
• $3 million to National Housing Trust (NHT). NHT will use this commitment to promote decarbonization efforts in affordable housing by providing technical assistance to owners to retrofit buildings to improve resident health outcomes, and to engage community members,  decisionmakers and lenders to make public resources more accessible and aligned to enhance affordable housing. This work aims to save tenants $1,200 in estimated average monthly rent savings, and is informed by JPMorgan Chase’s collaboration with the Urban Institute to test and scale innovative housing models across the U.S.
• $205K to Manna. The funding will support Manna's focus on increasing homeownership for underserved households, including people of color through property acquisition, affordable housing renovation, and community engagement. Manna will use this commitment to help address barriers in supply by advocating for dedicated resources to create and renovate units. Manna has developed more than 1,500 affordable for-sale units and will complete an impact study exploring actual results and outcomes in economic mobility, stability, and wealth-building from homebuyers. 

“Affordable, sustainable homeownership is essential to building strong communities and intergenerational wealth. Businesses, community leaders and policymakers must work together to address housing stability and affordability to fundamentally change the housing market,” said Mark O’Donovan, CEO of Chase Home Lending. “We hope these new commitments will provide meaningful impact for people who need it most in the Washington D.C. region, and we’ll continue to partner with the public sector to ensure that’s the case.”

“When residents have safe, stable, and affordable housing, that allows them to focus on all the other aspects of their lives and it creates stronger communities – that’s what these funds will help us do,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. “We also know that for many families, homeownership is a critical tool for building and passing on wealth, and we are grateful that JPMorgan Chase is partnering with local organizations to help more Washingtonians become homeowners.”

Helping to Increase Housing Affordability, Wealth Creation and Sustainable Homeownership across the U.S

Nationally, the housing crisis has been exacerbated by a shortage of affordable homes for purchase, coupled with high interest rates and increased home prices. This has put sustainable homeownership out of reach for many underserved households.

Two years into the firm’s $400 million philanthropic commitment, JPMorgan Chase has deployed loans, equity and grants to 153 organizations to advance housing affordability and stability in underserved communities across the U.S.  For example, JPMorgan Chase has committed funds to support innovative models that tackle the barriers to accessing homeownership and the lack of single-family supply, including:

• A $2.5 million commitment to the Center for Community Self-Help to scale its mortgage innovations to support low to moderate income borrowers, including people of color. This includes the Equity Boost mortgage - a 97-100% loan-to-value mortgage product paired with zero interest down payment assistance loan, and SAFE mortgage savings account that incentivizes saving for financial emergency or urgent home repairs. Now Equity Boost and SAFE are available in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Illinois, California, Wisconsin and Washington.  One year into the three-year program, Self-Help has served more than 350 individuals through financial coaching, preparing them to increase emergency savings, reduce debt, and build credit to prepare for homeownership. 
• A $3 million commitment to the Housing Partnership Network to support the Community Aggregators Group - a group of nonprofits that bid on government-owned home mortgages, acquire and rehab homes, and make them available primarily to first-time, low-income homebuyers at affordable prices. The group has won 230 bids to-date – preserving those units for affordable homeownership.  JPMorgan Chase’s commitment also supports the Equitable Homeownership Collaborative, comprised of CDFIs who aim to increase homeownership opportunities for people of color.
• A $2.5 million commitment to Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) to increase the supply of affordable, single-family homes. The investment will help ANDP develop affordable homes for sale and lease and provide down payment assistance to qualifying low- and moderate-income homebuyers, including those in predominately Black neighborhoods in metro Atlanta. ANDP is also committed to investing in minority and women-led developers and contractors to develop more homes. These efforts combined are anticipated to impact at least 507 metro Atlanta families. To date, the support has contributed to 210 ANDP affordable homes completed or under construction and nearly $21 million invested in small, Black-owned developers and real estate-affiliated businesses.

These commitments are part of JPMorgan Chase’s Housing Innovation Program. Learn more about these models here.

“Today’s commitment is part of our holistic, firmwide approach to combatting the housing crisis,” said Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility, JPMorgan Chase “We are combining our unique resources including business, philanthropy, research and policy expertise to help increase access to capital and inventory of sustainable housing opportunities. We are committed to creating tangible solutions that help everyday Americans.”

In addition to providing philanthropic capital, the firm is also focused on advancing economic inclusion and increasing homeownership opportunities through its businesses. The bank has taken a local approach in communities that have faced historical barriers to banking to help offer greater access to affordable home loans, low-cost checking accounts, and financial health education workshops.

• Community Banking: Chase has hired more than 300 community-focused managers, home lending advisors and senior business consultants and opened or revitalized more than 300 community-style branches, including fifteen new Community Center branches, to help expand access to banking and boost financial health and inclusion among Black, Hispanic and Latino communities.
• Increasing Homeownership Opportunities: Chase Home Lending’s expansion of its $5,000 Homebuyer Grant will help stabilize communities across the country. The grant is now available for customers purchasing a home in more than 14,000 majority Black and Hispanic/Latino communities across the country. To help homebuyers become more aware of financial assistance that may be available to them, the business has also launched the Homebuyer Assistance Finder.

JPMorgan Chase also advances this work through data-driven policy solutions and research. Last week, the JPMorgan Chase Institute released new research that further highlights the need for community work that promotes homeownership. Learn more here.

Comments on the Importance of Closing the Housing Affordability Gap

“We appreciate JPMorgan Chase's support in our DC Healthy, Green, and Affordable Housing project.” stated Priya Jayachandran, CEO of National Housing Trust. “This grant will be instrumental in helping NHT and our partners to identify and implement decarbonization solutions that deliver health and energy benefits for affordable housing residents in D.C. and across the U.S.”

“History has shown us that the most effective tool for building assets and creating intergenerational wealth has been homeownership,” says Sasha-Gaye Angus, President and CEO, Manna, Inc.  “With assistance from JPMorgan Chase, Manna will advance racial equity by implementing supply-based strategies in D.C. and MD for greater access to units, continue its advocacy for homeownership investments, conduct an updated impact study, and host convenings to build pathways for affordable homeownership in the district and surrounding jurisdictions.”

“The District's current affordable housing goals require a primary focus on the production and preservation of large-unit buildings. CNHED knew an initiative that complemented the District's response by focusing on smaller-unit buildings would help to provide a more comprehensive approach to addressing the affordable housing crisis,” says Stephen Glaude, Coalition for Non-Profit Housing and Economic Development  President and CEO. “CNHED is incredibly grateful to JPMorgan Chase for not only recognizing these needs but also providing the much-needed resources to advance the innovative Connecting Capital and Community initiative."

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $303 billion in stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.