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This page provides recent research evidence on the role of housing counseling to improve housing outcomes for homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.
View archived research and studies.
Housing Counseling Primary Research Report: Awareness and Visibility Project
HUD’s Office of Single Family Housing (SF) and Office of Housing Counseling (OHC) have partnered to develop an Awareness + Visibility Project to increase the public’s awareness of housing counseling, the number of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers that utilize housing counseling, and the number of people receiving housing counseling services. Read the report to learn the recommended strategy to expand awareness of the value of HUD’s housing counseling program as a tool to achieve a wide range of housing objectives.
Date Published: July 2019
Who Participates in Homebuyer Education and Counseling Services and Why?
HUD designed The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration as a large-scale randomized experiment to answer the question about the relative efficacy of homebuyer education and counseling on first-time borrowers. This report provides a detailed analysis of the study participants’ personal characteristics that are associated with program participation in in-person and remote homebuyer education and counseling services.
Date Published: October 2018
HUD’s Housing Counseling Program: Importance of Research and Metrics
This presentation on the importance of reserach and metrics within the Housing Counseling Program was delivered by Deputy Assistant Secretary Sarah Gerecke and Marina L. Myhre, Ph.D. Social Science Analyst, Program Evaluation Division, Office of Policy Development and Research for the October 4, 2018 meeting of the Department of Treasury’s Financial Education and Literacy Commission (FLEC) Meeting. The PowerPoint is also available.
Date Published: October 2018
This paper briefly summarizes recent research evidence on the role of housing counseling to improve housing outcomes for homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.
Date Published: September 2017
The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration
HUD designed The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration as a large-scale randomized experiment to answer the question about the relative efficacy of homebuyer education and counseling on first-time borrowers. This Baseline Report demonstrates that HUD has successfully implemented the first large-scale national experiment of homebuyer education and counseling.
Date Published: January 2017
NeighborWorks America's Homeownership Education and Counseling: Who Receives It and Is It Effective?
This report by the Urban Institute answers three important questions about NeighborWorks America’s homeownership education and counseling program: Who uses the program, where could the program be of greatest use, and how effective is the program in improving loan performance?
Date Published: September 2016
As part of Cityscape’s “Borrower Beware” research symposium, Sarah Gerecke discusses the role of consumer protections in the credit marketplace and notes important insights and policy implications offered by two of the symposium articles.
Date Published: August 2016
The Edge: Initial Findings of the First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration
This article from The Edge summarizes The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration: Early Insights report.
Date Published: July 2016
The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration: Early Insights
This report demonstrates that HUD has successfully implemented the first large-scale national experiment of homebuyer education and counseling that promises to become a foundational source of evidence for policymakers, lenders, and housing counseling practitioners and advocates regarding the impacts of homebuyer education and counseling.
Date Published: June 2016
HUD First-Time Homebuyer Study
The HUD First-Time Homebuyer Study is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To conduct the study, HUD hired a study team that includes Abt Associates, Abt SRBI, and their subcontractors. HUD is interested in learning more about the kinds of information first-time homebuyers find helpful as they navigate the path to successful homeownership.
Date Published: 2016
This paper briefly summarizes recent research evidence on the role of housing counseling to improve housing outcomes for homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.
Date Published: June 2016
Housing Counseling Literature Review
This paper briefly summarizes recent research evidence on the role of housing counseling to improve housing outcomes for homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.
Date Published: May 2016
The Evidence on Homeownership Education and Counseling
This article provides a description of homeownership education and counseling and evidence that the programs work.
Date Published: Spring 2016
This report contains highlights from NeighborWorks America third annual national housing survey. Aspirations of homeownership remain strong, with 87 percent of adults saying that homeownership is an “important” part of the American Dream, but an increasing percentage of consumers with student loan debt worry about their homeownership future, and a large percentage of consumers say that the mortgage process as complicated.
Date Published: March 2013
Summary of Recent Research: Housing Counseling Works - Sustainable Homeownership
The document contains a brief summary of the research evidence on the role of housing counseling in reducing mortgage delinquency and foreclosure and on helping first-time buyers access and sustain homeownership.
Date Published: December 2014
Responding to a Crisis: The National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, 2008-2018
This report summarizes National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program activity. The report covers counseling activity reported by program grantees and counselor training provided by NeighborWorks between 2008 - 2018.
Date Published: February 2019
The State of the Nation’s Housing
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University prepares an annual State of the Nation’s Housing report that provides an overview of housing market conditions in the U.S. The 2020 report examines the effects of COVID-19 on the housing market.
Date Published: December 2020
This page provides location information for housing counseling agencies and Section 3 businesses.
Date Published: Ongoing
Guiding Principles for the Future of Loss Mitigation
This white paper has been prepared by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—together the Agencies—to continue the collaborative efforts of the past seven years to stabilize the housing market and help struggling homeowners recover from the financial crisis.
Date Published: July 2016
NFCC – Sharpen Your Financial Focus Impact Study
The Sharpen Your Financial Focus (Sharpen) initiative of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) help consumers identify and resolve immediate financial concerns, gain a deeper understanding of financial literacy and debt management, and move toward long-term financial stability. To measure the extent of its impact, an independent, scientifically based evaluation was conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University.
Date Published: April 2016