Editorial: Erase race in home sales

State Rep. Josh Williams’ bill to insulate real estate deals from race-based prejudice is a practical way to solve an ongoing problem.

Mr. Williams, a Republican who now lives in Sylvania Township, has introduced House Bill 438, the Homebuyer Protection Act, with state Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D., Columbus).

The proposed bill was born from the rejection of his offer to buy a house after the seller saw that he and his wife were African-American.

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Mr. Williams’ offer on a house in Maumee in 2018 came with letters of financial pre-approval and offered $6,000 more than the accepted offer. The seller’s cool response to meeting Mr. Williams and the fact that the ultimate buyers were a young white couple — instead of a young black couple — convinced Mr. Williams he was a victim of discrimination.

The legislation prohibits the disclosure to a potential seller of any information about a buyer that would enable the seller to determine — or make an educated guess at — the buyer’s race.

It would prohibit licensed real estate agents from disclosing to the seller a prospective buyer’s name, age, race, or address on preliminary documents, like a mortgage pre-approval letter or proof of adequate funds.

Included in such documents would be the so-called “love letters” that some would-be buyers write to convey their particular affinity for a certain house and how it might suit them. The names and addresses will be redacted, and if there is a reference in the letter to race or some clear indication of the buyers’ race, it will be prohibited as well.

Our initial reaction to the bill was that it works by restricting information, which should usually be resisted in laws.

However, there is plenty of information that is available to the seller that matters — ability to pay, whether the loan is government-backed, whether it will be financed or purchased with cash, when the closing can occur, if the offer is contingent on some other property selling, and more.

The bill doesn’t even address the specific experience that prompted Mr. Williams’ legislation because the legislation does not prohibit a seller from meeting a potential buyer if the buyer attends an open house at which the seller is present.

However, Mr. Williams’ experience revealed to him that racism is still a reality for Black buyers looking to move into predominantly white communities.

Further, Mr. Williams tells us that people in the real estate industry frankly acknowledged to him that the buyer’s race is sometimes a factor for people selling homes in neighborhoods where they have long lived.

Racial segregation in our residential communities persists stubbornly. Mr. Williams’ bill is a valid way to chip away at the problem.