The State of the Housing Counseling Industry

In 2007, approximately 1.7 million individuals and families in communities throughout the country
received housing education and counseling from morethan 1,800 non-profit organizations approved
by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The types of services provided
by these agencies address a broad spectrum of housing issues, including helping renters to become homeowners, helping homeowners to maintain, improve, or refinance their home or to avoid
foreclosure, helping people experiencing homelessness to find housing, and helping people of all
types with fair housing complaints or financial management challenges.
The housing counseling industry has grown rapidly since the early 1990s. In 1994, 244,000
individuals received one-on-one counseling from HUD-approved counseling agencies. By 2007, the
number of individuals receiving one-on-one counseling had increased to 1.2 million, with another
500,000 individuals receiving housing education through group sessions.

Up through 2005, a large share of the growth in housing counseling occurred among those seeking
help to buy a home. To a significant degree this surge in pre-purchase clients reflected the emphasis placed on counseling as a means of preparing low-income households for homeownership.
Homebuyer education and pre-purchase counseling are understood by policymakers and the mortgage lending industry to be important tools in helping low-income households become successful homeowners, even though the impact of education and counseling on mortgage delinquency and default rates has not yet been fully documented.