Small Loans, Big Barriers

Please join New America’s Future of Land and Housing (FLH) program on November 4, 2026, from 12:00–1:00 PM ET for a virtual discussion for the launch of its new report, Small Loans, Big Barriers: How Small-Dollar Mortgages Impact the Racial Homeownership Gap in the United States.

Report authors Sabiha Zainulbhai, Deputy Director of FLH, and Craig J. Richardson, Professor of Economics at Winston-Salem State University, will join FLH Director Yuliya Panfil to discuss the report’s key findings and recommendations, including:

• The impact of declining small-dollar mortgage lending: A quantitative analysis of how the decline in small-dollar mortgage lending over the past two decades has affected Black homeownership relative to white homeownership nationwide.
• A roadmap for action: An assessment of 15 policy, programmatic, and financing approaches, alongside 45 targeted actions that federal, state, and local policymakers can take to expand access to small-dollar homeownership.

The conversation will also explore the implications of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act for small-dollar homeownership, followed by an opportunity for audience questions and discussion.