Homebuyers, Owners, & Renters
      
      Homebuyers, Owners, and Renters

          
                        Business Partners
                  Single-Family Business

Helping lenders serve homebuyers and homeowners with affordable mortgages
    
          Multifamily Business

Financing for quality, affordable rental housing in every market, every day
    
          Capital Markets

Reducing risk and enhancing housing finance liquidity
          About Us
                toggle
                Who We Are
                                              toggle
                        Awards and Recognition
                                                      Diversity and Inclusion
                                                              toggle
                                Employee Resource Groups
                                                                      Progress With Purpose
                                                      Employee Code of Conduct
                                                      Community Engagement
                                                      History
                                      What We Do
                                              toggle
                        Duty to Serve
                                                              toggle
                                Manufactured Housing
                                                                      Affordable Housing Preservation
                                                                      Rural Housing
                                                                      Research Initiatives
                                                                      Colonias Investment Areas
                                                      Homeownership
                                                              toggle
                                Access to Mortgage Credit
                                                                      Restrictive Covenants
                                                      Innovation
                                                      Mortgage Finance in America
                                                      Financial Performance
                                                      Disaster Resiliency and Relief
                                                      Pilot Transparency
                                      Leadership Team
                                      Corporate Governance
                                              toggle
                        Corporate Governance Guidelines
                                                      Fannie Mae Charter
                                                      Board of Directors
                                                      Committees
                                                      Committee Charters
                                                      Code of Conduct
                                                      Bylaws
                                                      Contacting the Board of Directors
                                                      Housing Reports
                                      Investor Relations
                                              toggle
                        Quarterly and Annual Results
                                                      Annual Reports
                                                      SEC Filings
                                                              toggle
                                All SEC Filings
                                                                      Annual Filings
                                                                      Quarterly Filings
                                                                      Current Reports
                                                                      Section 16 Filings
                                                                      Proxy Filings
                                                      Additional Disclosures
                                                              toggle
                                Monthly Summary
                                                                      Capital Disclosures
                                                      Stock Information
                                                      Current Stock Information
                                                      Contact Information
                                      ESG
                                              toggle
                        Learn about our business
                                                      Environmental
                                                      Social
                                                              toggle
                                Equitable Housing Finance Plan
                                                      Governance
                                                      Sustainable Bonds
                                                              toggle
                                Green Bonds
                                                                      Social Bonds
                                                      Reports & Disclosures
                                                              toggle
                                2021 ESG Report
                                      Research & Insights
                                              toggle
                        Forecast
                                                              toggle
                                Monthly Archive
                                                                      Weekly Archive
                                                      Surveys & Indices
                                                              toggle
                                National Housing Survey
                                                                      Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey
                                                                      Fannie Mae Home Price Index
                                                                      Refinance Application-Level Index
                                                                      Special Topics
                                                      Publications
                                                              toggle
                                Fannie Mae Working Papers
                                                                      Housing Insights
                                                                      Partner Research
                                                                      Publications Archive
                                                      Perspectives
                                                              toggle
                                Archive - 2020
                                                                      Archive - 2021
                                                                      Archive - 2022
                                                                      Archive - 2023
                                      Newsroom
                                              toggle
                        News
                                                      Media Resources
          
                        Careers
                toggle
                Our Teams
                                              toggle
                        Corporate Teams
                                                      Data & Analytics
                                                      Digital & Technology
                                                      Mortgage & Customer Solutions
                                                      Risk Management
                                      Life at Fannie Mae
                                      Diversity & Inclusion
                                      Benefits & Professional Development
                                      Campus
          
                        Contact Us
                      
            Google Translate Disclaimer
            The Google Translate feature is a third-party service that is available for informational purposes only. Fannie Mae is unable to guarantee the accuracy of any translation resulting from the tool and is not responsible for any event or damage that occurs as a result of using the translations generated by the Google Translate feature.
            OK
  Translate
        Translation Disclaimer
          Chinese, Traditional
            English
            Filipino
            Korean
            Spanish
            Vietnamese
 FM Site Nav
  

        

Homepage
                    
      Fannie Mae logo
    Toggle navigation
      Rent
                
                All Renter Resources
                                      The Rental Process
                                      Make Your Rent Count
                                      Credit Basics
                      
            Buy
                
                All Homebuyer Resources
                                      7 Steps to Homeownership
                                      HomeView Homeownership Education Course
                      
            Own
                
                All Homeowner Resources
                                      Make the Most of Your Home
                                      Refinancing Your Mortgage
                                      When It’s Time to Sell
                      
            Get Relief
                  Manage Financial Uncertainty

All Resources to Manage Financial Uncertainty

Help for Homeowners

Help for Renters

Protect Yourself from Fraud
    
          Recover from a Disaster

All Resources for Recovering from a Disaster

Recovery Assistance for Homeowners

Recovery Assistance for Renters

Protect Yourself from Fraud
                      
            Calculators & Tools
                
                All Calculators & Tools
                                      Tools for Renters
                                      Tools for Homebuyers
                                      Tools for Homeowners
                                      HomeView® Homeownership Education Course
                                      Glossary
                                      Mobile AppToggle search
 Skip to main content
          
    
    Home
                        Research and Insights
                        Perspectives
                        Home – What It Means to Native American Families
    Perspectives Blog
Home – What It Means to Native American Families
September 27, 2018
Kellie CoffeyNative American tribes are dispersed widely throughout the U.S. and live predominantly in rural areas. When it comes to housing finance, they're considered one of the most underserved populations in the country. The Duty to Serve rule1 issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directs us to improve the availability of mortgage financing for low- and moderate-income families, and specifically calls for a focus on federally recognized Native American tribes because of their unique circumstances and historical lack of access to mortgage lending.2

The rich culture, traditions, and spiritual beliefs of Native Americans can be traced back thousands of years and influence how they live today. The people, the community, the land, and the family home remain the center point of Native American families.

To better understand the unique cultural views on homeownership among Native Americans living on tribal lands, including the motivation and barriers to homeownership, we conducted individual interviews3 with a small sample of lower-income Native Americans. The individuals interviewed are active tribal members, and they either recently purchased or plan to purchase their first homes on tribal land within the year. The study was conducted in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico, across seven tribes.4

Native American Homeownership Findings

Key Findings include:

Research participants typically cited large families, with strong kinship ties and expansive social connections within their pueblo. The desire for homeownership is primarily driven by a desire for independence and privacy.
	The "family home" and its connection to the land are central to tribal life, both for personal identity and the pueblo community. Homeownership is generally not viewed as a means of building wealth. Participants feel deeply connected to the land and their pueblo and take pride in their cultural traditions of making others feel welcome. A strong responsibility to care for their elders and extended families results in ensuring that there is a family home.
	The decision to live on tribal land is driven by both financial and non-financial reasons. In addition to the desire to stay close to family and tribal culture, many mentioned the benefit of the lower cost of living, given no cost for the land itself and no property taxes.
	Most participants live paycheck to paycheck with little to no savings. Additionally, most reported being generally conservative with their finances, worrying about overspending, and preferring not to use credit cards.
	Most learned the importance of budgeting and building credit through real life experiences and past mistakes. Almost all mentioned the need to repair or rebuild credit on the path to homeownership. Some admitted to previously having credit scores in the 300-400 range.
	In general, participants seemed reluctant to seek advice by sharing financial and other personal details about their lives. Even partnered couples often do not know their partner's income or spending and saving habits. Many could not name any trusted financial advisors, other than those who helped with their specific loan.
	Feeling safe, secure, and guided through the entire home purchase process are key emotional needs. Although the process of buying a home on tribal land often takes years, not months, and is complex, most do not view this as a barrier to homeownership. Many actively participate in the construction or renovation of their homes.It is well known that Native Americans face homeownership challenges, including poor or thin credit, lack of resources, and inexperience with the home-buying process. Despite the challenges, independent homeownership is extremely important to many Native Americans for many different reasons.  Our research indicates that Native American families pride themselves on their identity, as well as their cultural and emotional connection to their home, their people, and their land. These beliefs support and reinforce their overall commitment to homeownership. While there are many whitepapers on the homeownership challenges Native Americans face, this research provides unique and rare insight into what "homeownership" means for tribal members themselves.

To learn more, read our full study findings, "Native American Homeownership Qualitative Research."

**Kellie Coffey
Product Development Manager – Rural Initiatives
Single-Family Duty to Serve**

*September 27, 2018*

*The author thanks Marvin Ginn, Rose Marquez, Anne McGrath, and the individuals who participated in this research for their valuable contributions to the design and execution of the study. Of course, all errors and omissions remain the responsibility of the author.*

*Opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts and other views of Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group or of research participants reflected in this commentary should not be construed as indicating Fannie Mae's business prospects or expected results, are based on a number of assumptions, and are subject to change without notice. How this information affects Fannie Mae will depend on many factors. Although the ESR group bases its opinions, analyses, estimates, forecasts and other views on information it considers reliable, it does not guarantee that the information provided in this commentary is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. Changes in the assumptions or the information underlying these views could produce materially different results. The analyses, opinions, estimates, forecasts and other views published by the ESR group represent the views of that group as of the date indicated and do not necessarily represent the views of Fannie Mae or its management.*

1 The FHFA issued a final rule on December 13, 2016 to implement the Duty to Serve provisions mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The statute requires the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) to serve three specified underserved markets – manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural housing – by increasing the liquidity of mortgage financing, for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families. The rule requires each Enterprise to adopt a three-year (from 2018 to 2020) Underserved Markets Plan to fulfill their Duty to Serve obligations in each underserved market. For details about the Duty To Serve Program, please see https://www.fhfa.gov/PolicyProgramsResearch/Programs/Pages/Duty-to-Serve.aspx

2 There are 567 federally recognized tribes today and each has a unique structure of governance, culture, history, and identity. In addition, reservation land is held "in trust" for Native American tribes by the federal government. There is no monetary value associated with the land. Individual Native Americans cannot own their land and, as a result, cannot build equity. This prevents them from capitalizing on numerous homeownership benefits that others enjoy.

https://www.thehomestory.com/focusing-native-american-homeownership-duty-serve/

3 Qualitative methodologies are used to discover deeper insights and directions. These findings are exploratory in nature and are not intended to be projectable to a larger population.

4 Twenty-six (26) individual in-depth interviews were conducted with lower-income Native Americans who are active tribal members who recently purchased, or plan to purchase this year, their first homes on tribal trust lands in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Interview participants are members of the following seven pueblos: Pueblo of Jemez, Pueblo of Laguna, Pueblo of Nambe, Pueblo of Okay Owingeh, Pueblo of Pojoaque, Pueblo of Sane Felipe, and Pueblo of Santa Clara. A mix of central-location interviews and in-home interviews were conducted on April 17-22, 2018. All research participants have jobs with regular paychecks (weekly or biweekly). Most had stated annual incomes in the $30,000-$60,000 range, and most were in the 30- to 40-year old age range. For more research methodology details, please see the research report.

TOPICS
  
Fannie Mae Corporate
  
  
      Twitter
              Facebook
              Linkedin
              Email
Research and Insights
                                                              Forecast
                                    Surveys & Indices
                                    Publications
                                    Perspectives
                                                              Archive - 2024
                                    Archive - 2023
                                    Archive - 2022
                                    Archive - 2021

Full Study Findings

Our Company
    About Us
      Contact Us
      Careers
      Investor Relations
      Newsroom
      Research & Insights
      ESG
  Business Partners
    Single-Family Business
      Multifamily Business
      Capital Markets
	      Suppliers
      Developer Portal
  Homebuyers, Owners, & Renters
    Educational Resources
      Credit Basics
      HomeView Homeownership Education Course
      HomePath - Search for Homes
      Make Your Rent CountCalculators & Tools
      All Calculators and Tools      Glossary of Key Terms
      Mortgage Calculator
      Down Payment Assistance Search Tool
      Mobile AppLet Us Help You
      Contact a Housing Counselor
      Manage Financial Uncertainty
      Recover from a Disaster
    
    
  

      
Social media
  

        
            Follow us
          Follow us
          Facebook
          Twitter
          LinkedIn
          Instagram
    Footer
  

        
            Legal
          Privacy
          Digital Accessibility
                Cookie Preferences
            © 2024 Fannie Mae