{"id":278158,"date":"2026-01-14T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=278158"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:16:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:16:26","slug":"investing-in-housing-counselors-safeguarding-a-critical-resource-for-family-housing-stability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/investing-in-housing-counselors-safeguarding-a-critical-resource-for-family-housing-stability\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in Housing Counselors: Safeguarding a Critical Resource for Family Housing Stability"},"content":{"rendered":"

As financial pressures mount for American families, one of their most trusted allies is quietly being pushed to the brink: housing counselors. Last year\u2019s 43-day government shutdown,\u00a0coupled with the threat of another in\u00a0January,\u00a0has delayed HUD\u2019s annual Housing Counseling funding application.\u00a0These delays\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0exist in a vacuum,\u00a0exacerbating\u00a0hardships for low- and moderate-income families already struggling to afford rent and avoid foreclosure\u00a0or becoming more financially distant from the dream of homeownership.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Housing counselors provide no to low-cost financial home-buying and foreclosure prevention education services to anyone who needs support. Yet, amid a deepening housing crisis, they remain a scarce resource. There are roughly\u00a0<\/span>4,000 housing counselors<\/span><\/a> across the country, or one housing counselor for every 22,000 potential homebuyers looking for\u00a0assistance.\u00a0Because these services are federally funded and offered at no cost to consumers, housing counselors are widely regarded as an unbiased and trusted resource. They can guide families through the home-buying process without the pressure to sell predatory loan products with interest rates outside of families\u2019 means.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Housing counseling guidance has never been more essential.\u00a0Home prices continue to\u00a0<\/span>outpace wages in many\u00a0states<\/span>,\u00a0while mortgage rates\u00a0remain\u00a0well above\u00a0<\/span>pre-pandemic levels<\/span>\u00a0and proposed policy changes\u2014such as the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac\u2014could further destabilize the housing market.\u00a0Home foreclosures are also continuing to rise, increasing to\u00a019% since October 2024. These compounding obstacles are inhibiting more low- and moderate-income (LMI) families from otherwise securing\u00a0and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0stable housing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NCRC is proud to support housing counselors nationwide\u00a0as a HUD intermediary via our\u00a0<\/span>Housing Counseling Network<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(HCN) through our direct grant administration services.\u00a0<\/span>NCRC fosters deep relationships with our 24 network agencies by delivering targeted technical\u00a0assistance\u00a0to boost their capacity for impact within their communities. HCN housing counselors provide critical guidance and educational training to over 14,000 households each year. Through our National Training Academy, NCRC provides a breadth of\u00a0technical\u00a0assistance<\/span>\u00a0courses<\/span>\u00a0to housing counseling agencies across the country, training\u00a0nearly 40%\u00a0of all counselors nationwide annually on emerging best practices to better serve families in need.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The benefits of working with a housing counselor are clear. In\u00a02024\u00a0<\/span>alone<\/span><\/a>, housing counselors supported 35,000 families in\u00a0purchasing\u00a0homes, ensured over 12,700 families avoided\u00a0eviction\u00a0and helped over 19,500 avoid\u00a0defaulting on their mortgages.\u00a0Research also\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0that households that receive pre-home purchase counseling have a\u00a0<\/span>20% lower chance of experiencing foreclosure<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0These outcomes are possible because HUD-certified housing counselors offer deep\u00a0expertise\u00a0in affordability assessments,\u00a0budgeting\u00a0and credit-building strategies that promote long-term financial stability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While many provisions in the\u00a0<\/span>Road to Housing Act<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are helpful and potentially transformative for LMI communities, the included proposal to\u00a0<\/span>penalize housing counseling agencies based on homebuyer outcomes<\/span>\u00a0warrants\u00a0scrutiny. Such policies\u00a0<\/span>discourage agencies from providing counseling to families who are most vulnerable, such as those in climate-risk areas, seniors or families facing sudden medical crisis.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We must increase investment in housing counseling programs, not decrease it.\u00a0This is a pivotal moment.\u00a0Private and public funders need to continue providing housing counseling agencies with the resources they need\u00a0to\u00a0continue the work of economically building up the communities that they serve.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 4,000 housing counselors across all 50 states stand ready to support Americans in navigating a challenging housing market.\u00a0If we are serious about protecting the American dream of homeownership, we must invest in the counselors who help make it possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Laura Bentley is the Director of Grant Administration for NCRC’s Community Impact team.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo credit: Tierra Mallorca via Upsplash.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As financial pressures mount for American families, one of their most trusted allies is quietly being pushed to the brink: housing counselors. Last year\u2019s 43-day government shutdown,\u00a0coupled with the threat of another in\u00a0January,\u00a0has delayed HUD\u2019s annual Housing Counseling funding application.\u00a0These delays\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0exist in a vacuum,\u00a0exacerbating\u00a0hardships for low- and moderate-income families already struggling to afford rent and 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Last year\u2019s 43-day government shutdown,\u00a0coupled with the threat of another in\u00a0January,\u00a0has delayed HUD\u2019s annual Housing Counseling funding application.\u00a0These delays\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0exist in a vacuum,\u00a0exacerbating\u00a0hardships for low- and moderate-income families already struggling to afford rent and…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}