Investing in Housing Counselors: Safeguarding a Critical Resource for Family Housing Stability

As financial pressures mount for American families, one of their most trusted allies is quietly being pushed to the brink: housing counselors. Last year’s 43-day government shutdown, coupled with the threat of another in January, has delayed HUD’s annual Housing Counseling funding application. These delays don’t exist in a vacuum, exacerbating hardships for low- and moderate-income families already struggling to afford rent and avoid foreclosure or becoming more financially distant from the dream of homeownership.  

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 4,000 housing counselors across the country, or one housing counselor for every 22,000 potential homebuyers looking for assistance. Because 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’ means. 

Housing counseling guidance has never been more essential. Home prices continue to outpace wages in many states, while mortgage rates remain well above pre-pandemic levels and proposed policy changes—such as the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—could further destabilize the housing market. Home foreclosures are also continuing to rise, increasing to 19% since October 2024. These compounding obstacles are inhibiting more low- and moderate-income (LMI) families from otherwise securing and maintaining stable housing.  

NCRC is proud to support housing counselors nationwide as a HUD intermediary via our Housing Counseling Network (HCN) through our direct grant administration services. NCRC fosters deep relationships with our 24 network agencies by delivering targeted technical assistance to 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 technical assistance courses to housing counseling agencies across the country, training nearly 40% of all counselors nationwide annually on emerging best practices to better serve families in need. 

The benefits of working with a housing counselor are clear. In 2024 alone, housing counselors supported 35,000 families in purchasing homes, ensured over 12,700 families avoided eviction and helped over 19,500 avoid defaulting on their mortgages. Research also demonstrates that households that receive pre-home purchase counseling have a 20% lower chance of experiencing foreclosure. These outcomes are possible because HUD-certified housing counselors offer deep expertise in affordability assessments, budgeting and credit-building strategies that promote long-term financial stability. 

While many provisions in the Road to Housing Act are helpful and potentially transformative for LMI communities, the included proposal to penalize housing counseling agencies based on homebuyer outcomes warrants scrutiny. Such policies 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.  

We must increase investment in housing counseling programs, not decrease it. This is a pivotal moment. Private and public funders need to continue providing housing counseling agencies with the resources they need to continue the work of economically building up the communities that they serve.  

More than 4,000 housing counselors across all 50 states stand ready to support Americans in navigating a challenging housing market. If we are serious about protecting the American dream of homeownership, we must invest in the counselors who help make it possible. 

Laura Bentley is the Director of Grant Administration for NCRC’s Community Impact team.

Photo credit: Tierra Mallorca via Upsplash.