NBA Star Tobias Harris Launches $4 Million Homeownership Initiative for Detroit Families

Detroit has long been a battleground for housing. Generations of Black families built neighborhoods brick by brick, only to see them stripped through redlining, foreclosures, and speculative investment. What’s left is a city where renters often outnumber homeowners, mortgage denials remain disproportionately high, and the chance to own a home feels out of reach for many working people. The scars of the foreclosure crisis still show up on blocks across the city, where empty lots and boarded houses sit as reminders of broken systems. At the same time, Detroit’s real estate market is climbing. The median sale price topped $100,000 for the first time this summer and continues to rise, while incomes for many families remain flat. That collision — of rising costs and shrinking access — is what many Detroiters describe as an affordable housing crisis.

It is into that reality that Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris is stepping with his latest initiative. On Tuesday, the NBA veteran announced a $4 million partnership aimed at widening the path to homeownership in nine Detroit neighborhoods. The Tobias Harris Homeownership Initiative, built with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Guild Mortgage, and Homium, is designed to chip away at the biggest barrier many families face: the down payment. The program will cover up to 40 percent of a home’s purchase price in assistance, offering fractional ownership and shared appreciation. For a city that has seen decades of exclusion in lending, the model is both unconventional and urgent.

Harris has returned to Detroit for a second stint with the Pistons, but his roots in the city stretch beyond basketball. He has invested in literacy programs, provided school supplies for classrooms, and funded professional development for teachers. His foundation has also backed affordable housing projects and small businesses. Still, Harris said the housing market’s inequities stood out. He has seen families locked out despite steady incomes, leaving them with no option but to rent as prices climb. “Being here, being an athlete and somebody who has a platform that can make an impact, I wanted to combine all those things and figure out a way to do something meaningful, impactful and that can really change the trajectory of an individual’s life,” Harris said.

The initiative is targeted at working-class neighborhoods like Bagley, Grandmont, Core City, Rosedale, and Eastern Market, among others. Applicants must earn no more than 140 percent of the area median income, which translates to $113,120 for two people in Wayne County. These aren’t luxury buyers — they’re nurses, teachers, and city employees, people who hold up the city but often get pushed out of ownership opportunities. An example in the fact sheet lays it out clearly: an ER nurse in Detroit earning $77,000 annually could buy a $230,000 home with just three percent down and save more than $200 per month compared to a traditional mortgage. That monthly breathing room could be the difference between staying current on bills or falling behind, between building wealth or watching it drain away.

The design of the loan reflects shared appreciation. That means when the homeowner sells or refinances, a portion of the appreciation goes back to the lender. If the home loses value, the homeowner only owes the original principal. For some, it may feel like a tradeoff to give up part of future value, but for families boxed out of the market entirely, the model offers a door in. It shifts some of the risk away from families who have already carried too much of it in Detroit’s housing story.

Marcus Martin, CEO of Homium, described it as a fairer approach to lending in a city where too many have been excluded. “The people of Detroit deserve a fair shot at building middle-class economic and housing security for their families,” Martin said. “Programs like the Tobias Harris Homeownership Initiative and partners like Guild are what make it possible for fair and transparent products like Homium to enter the market, and we’re just getting started.”

Detroit’s Black neighborhoods know this history well. Decades of redlining cut them out of fair lending. The 2008 foreclosure crisis hit Detroit harder than nearly anywhere else, with thousands losing homes in a matter of months. Even now, Black mortgage applicants in Detroit face denial rates that far exceed their white counterparts with similar incomes. Add to that speculative buying from investors who see Detroit property as profit rather than community, and the crisis deepens. That is why Harris’ initiative has been met with attention not just for its celebrity backer, but because it speaks to a larger fight for equity.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority put $3 million toward the effort. Private partners followed — Pistons owner Tom Gores and former player Jon Leuer contributed through Realize Impact, the nonprofit impact investing partner. With just over $4 million raised, Harris estimates 100 to 130 Detroiters could become first-time homeowners in the near term. His goal is to grow that number, ultimately building to $10 million in commitments.

Harris said the design of the program came after studying other down payment assistance and shared appreciation models. “A lot of them don’t actually benefit the person who’s becoming the first-time homebuyer,” he said. “This puts somebody in the position where the payment they’re paying is actually less than what they would be paying if they were renting.”

The neighborhoods chosen for the program were deliberate. A fact sheet notes: “The nine target ZIP codes were chosen as stable, working-class neighborhoods where families earn modest incomes but face high mortgage denial rates. They also align with areas prioritized by other nonprofits and city initiatives like the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund, ensuring buyers can purchase in communities positioned for growth. By focusing here, the initiative removes upfront barriers, helps renters become homeowners, and supports long-term value as new amenities, services, jobs, and businesses take root.”

That alignment means the initiative could do more than help individuals. It could stabilize entire blocks, adding weight to schools, small businesses, and local institutions that depend on stable populations. For a city like Detroit, where blight has long been a symptom of displacement, new homeowners can reshape the trajectory of neighborhoods.

Yet challenges remain. Shared appreciation mortgages are rare, and some potential buyers may hesitate at the idea of giving up part of future value. Others may question whether $4 million is enough to make a dent in a city with such deep housing needs. Harris himself acknowledged the limitations but said the focus is on building a foundation. He studied other models and found too many tilted in favor of institutions. This one, he believes, leaves families better off.

For Detroiters, the proof will be in the lived results. Will renters in Rosedale or Finney finally hold deeds in their names? Will children grow up in homes their parents own rather than moving from rental to rental? Those outcomes will measure the program’s success more than any announcement.

Detroit has seen housing promises before, many of them broken. Harris’ initiative arrives in that context — not as a fix for decades of systemic failure, but as a step toward something better. It is a recognition that building equity in this city requires more than platitudes. It requires putting real money behind solutions that meet families where they are. And in a city where owning a home has always symbolized more than property, this initiative may mean that more Detroiters finally get to hold their keys, plant their roots, and know that their city still has space for them.