The WEALTH Collective has received $50,000 from the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia to support its efforts to eliminate home appraisal bias locally and beyond, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The WEALTH Collective is a team of Black women in real estate, banking, and finance who are fighting appraisal bias that disproportionately affects Black homeowners and neighborhoods by undervaluing the value of their homes compared with comparable properties owned by white homeowners or that are located in predominantly white neighborhoods. This discrepancy can result in lost home equity for Black households, and serves to widen the racial wealth gap.

“We’re disrupting the status quo,” said Clara Lyons-DeVaughn. “There’s gonna be a new normal. And that new normal includes having more equity and more wealth for communities of Black and brown people. We’re gonna take back our money, take back our wealth.”

The WEALTH Collective produces an app where people can upload their property appraisals to see if their properties may be undervalued. If bias is suspected, the app flags it and then generates a report that people can present to their lender to appeal incorrect appraisals.

The platform also offers webinars about bias in the home valuation process.

Read more about the WEALTH Collective and what this new $50,000 grant will do in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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