THE WASHINGTON POST.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019EZ10
BY TROY MCMULLEN
Not long after they were married in 2017, Rick and Astardii
Hopkins started shopping for a home.
But when the Birmingham, Ala., couple began exploring home
loans, they quickly realized their college loan debt limited their
options. Both attended local colleges, and like many African
American millennials across the country who took on debt in
higher proportion than their white counterparts, they were left
with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to repay.
“The loans hit us pretty hard,” said Rick, 28, a chief engineer at
Courtyard by Marriott. “It basically limited what we could save for a
down payment and how much we could borrow from the bank.”
The couple began working with real estate agent Laurane
Simon, who guided them through the financing process and
eventually helped them secure a mortgage. A member of the
National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), the oldest
black real estate trade association in the country, Simon primarily
focuses on African American first-time buyers, better educating
them on everything from securing a home loan to budgeting for a
down payment.
“This is exactly the kind of first-time home buyer the industry
needs,” Simon says. “We need younger buyers of color to be able to
embrace real estate.”
Pushing the millennial generation into homeownership has
long been a major focus of the real estate industry. Born from 1981
to 1996, this group of Americans reached 67.7 million this year,A new home vs. student debts
Black millennials, often strapped by college loans, struggle to save for a down payment
PHOTOS BY CAMERON CARNES FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTTOP: Realtor Mishaè Dickerson, left, shows a home to Astardii and Rick Hopkins in
Birmingham, Ala. ABOVE: Rick checks out a swing. Like other black millennials, the
couple say their college debt had limited their options.Cover Story“We need younger buyers of color to be able to embrace real estate.” — agent Laurane Simon