Originally published on February 7, 2022, by Lester Davis for NFHA.
Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 20 fair housing organizations throughout the country reached a landmark $53 million agreement with Fannie Mae (formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association). The settlement resolves the groups’ claims that Fannie Mae treated homes it owned in majority-Black and Latino communities unfavorably. The settlement will help rebuild and strengthen communities of color in 39 metropolitan areas. In the case, the plaintiffs alleged that Fannie Mae maintained and marketed its foreclosed homes in predominantly White neighborhoods while allowing homes in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods to fall into disrepair and that this differential treatment exacerbated the damage caused by the 2008 mortgage crisis and impeded recovery from the crisis in neighborhoods of color. The case was the first time a federal court confirmed the nation’s fair housing laws cover the maintenance and marketing of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties.