A task force that aimed to identify racial and ethnic bias in home valuations has been “effectively disbanded.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) claimed in a joint press release that the termination of policies created by the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) will “improve efficiency, reduce regulatory burden and expand access to homeownership.”

“By tearing down these onerous hurdles, we’re freeing professionals from a tangle of red tape that drove up costs, inhibited access to homeownership and discouraged market participation,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner stated.

The disbanding of PAVE is part of a broader mandate by the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. The press release referred to PAVE as a “woke Biden-era task force,” using a slang term that has been adopted by conservatives as a derogatory criticism of perceived overreaction.

“Wokeism at HUD was brass-tacks economic policy that snatched away the American Dream of homeownership from an entire generation. That ends today,” stated Jeffrey B. Clark, acting administrator of OIRA, which is a division within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The PAVE task force was created in 2021 during the Biden administration. In 2023, it announced an action plan “aimed squarely at dismantling racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process and promoting generational wealth creation through homeownership.”

A fact sheet that accompanied the action plan rollout noted that “bias in home valuations limits the ability of Black and brown families to enjoy the financial returns associated with homeownership, thereby contributing to the already sprawling racial wealth gap.”

The fact sheet also stated: “Just since the Task Force was launched, there have been numerous reports of Black homeowners receiving higher appraisals only after taking down family photos and having white families represent them in their stead.”

The press release from HUD and OIRA issued this week included data from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank, which disputed the PAVE findings.

“We’re encouraged that HUD and other agencies are beginning to roll back certain PAVE-inspired policies adopted by the Biden administration. These actions were driven by claims of race-based disparities in home values, mortgage denial rates and appraisal undervaluations,” stated AEI Housing Center co-directors Tobias Peter and Edward Pinto in the press release. “These claims ignored AEI Housing Center research that found similar disparities in white communities with similar socioeconomic status, thereby invalidating the argument that the disparities were race based.”

Luke Tomaszewski, an appraisal company owner for the past 20 years and CEO of real estate technology platform ProxyPics, offered his thoughts on the potential effects the dissolution of the PAVE task force will have on the appraisal industry.

“The original concept behind PAVE — to invite new appraisers into the profession — was solid. Our industry needs fresh talent,” Tomaszewski wrote in an emailed statement to Scotsman Guide. “However, its implementation focused narrowly on appraisers from specific racial backgrounds, rather than inclusively opening doors for all qualified individuals. Despite its intent, PAVE didn’t meaningfully increase the number of appraisers, so winding it down should have no adverse impact on the industry as a whole.”