By Yasmin Chilton
In front of a standing room only crowd, The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority (The Port) and the Greater Cincinnati Realtist Association (GCRA) last week announced a historic partnership to increase homeownership in Hamilton County.
Leveraging inventory of The Port’s CARE Homes, a contract was completed providing a percentage of the rehabbed affordable houses to the Realtist Association to be marketed and sold to local buyers. The Cincinnati Realtists Association was founded decades ago by African American businessman Horace Sudduth when Blacks were precluded from joining the Cincinnati Realtors Association.
“When The Port set out on the mission to acquire this portfolio of 194 single-family homes, we did so well aware of the risks,” said Laura Brunner, The Port president and CEO. “But our vision of protecting local residents from the rising costs of rent, unwarranted threats of eviction and frequently ignored maintenance requests far outweighed the uncertainty of the acquisition.
“We’re improving quality of life in our neighborhoods. And we’re creating a pathway toward generational wealth, one of the primary benefits of owning real estate. Now, our partnership with the Realtist Association spreads our message and reach that homeownership is an achievable possibility for all.”
The goal of the CARE Homes portfolio is to make high-quality improvements to single family homes and make them affordably available to local buyers. The mission of the GCRA is to secure equal housing opportunities for all Hamilton County residents, regardless of race, creed or color. With the GCRA involved, The Port is optimistic both entities will succeed positively transforming homeownership rates in the community, especially as it pertains to minority and first-time prospective buyers.
“GCRA is extremely excited to be in partnership with The Port,” said Darrick Dansby, president of the Greater Cincinnati Realtist Association. “We view this partnership as an opportunity to dramatically increase the Black homeownership rate in Cincinnati. First time homebuyers are unable to compete in this low inventory market. This partnership allows our buyers a stronger chance at homeownership.”
At the news conference announcing the partnership, Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece lauded The Port and GCRA’s collaboration as historic.
“History has been made in Hamilton County with the announcement of a historic partnership between the Greater Cincinnati Realtist Association and The Port,” said Reece. “On April 12, my office organized the first-ever Government Day with the Greater Cincinnati Realtists at the County featuring a number of transformative workshops. That same day we passed our MBE/WBE and Small Business program. Today, the Realtists will now sell 25% of The Port’s CARE Homes creating more viable pathways to equitable homeownership.”
“The Realtists and the Port partnered with our office a few years ago to hold homeownership workshops in various parts of Cincinnati,” said Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney. “Now, under Darrick Dansby’s leadership, the Realtists have continued the workshops. This partnership with the Port to sell the 194 affordable homes is a huge opportunity for families to build generational wealth. I am thrilled!”
Low inventory has negatively affected the housing market nationally, causing homes to close at prices well above their listing price. The sales prices of The Port’s CARE Homes are at or below market rate in all neighborhoods, something different than what residents and financial institutions are seeing throughout the country. That is why The Port is collaborating with Fifth Third Bank from an appraisal and mortgage loan perspective to ensure local lenders are aware what the CARE Homes portfolio is to better understand how they can support prospective buyers with their financial products.
“Our commitment to Empowering Black Futures is real,” said Nikki Bialka, VP, CRA development manager at Fifth Third Bank. “Just this week we announced that we have exceeded our initial 180 million commitment to nine neighborhoods that have historically suffered disinvestment, including Avondale.
“In just two years of the three-year commitment, we have invested more than $187 million across nine neighborhoods to support affordable housing, economic mobility, small business support, neighborhood revitalization, workforce development, financial access and more, and we are not done – we are extending our technical support through 2025 to ensure full implementation and sustainability. We understand the power in bringing together the community, housing counselors, developers like The Port and trusted real estate professionals like the Realtists to develop and deliver solutions that work at a local level for the people from the community.”
To date, eight CARE homes have been listed with the Realtist Association, with three already under contract.
For more information about the CARE Homes program, contact housing@cincinnatiport.org. For information about working with the Realtist Association to purchase a home, contact president@greatercincinnatirealtistassociation.com