The Effectiveness of Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling and Financial Management Skills

Fortunately, homeownership counseling is available to help navigate prospective homebuyers in their quest. But the effectiveness of such counseling over time continues to be contemplated. Previous studies have made important strides in our understanding of the value of homeownership counseling, but more work is needed. More specifically, homeownership education and counseling have never been rigorously evaluated through a randomized field experiment.

This study is based on a long-term (five-year) effort undertaken by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on the effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership and financial management skills counseling. The study improves upon previous efforts by employing a different methodology that relies on an experimental design and tracks study participants’ creditworthiness over time.