Abt Associates has been working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a series of studies on homeownership education and counseling. In 2008, Abt Associates published a report on the state of the housing counseling industry. The report provided a comprehensive picture of the industry and described the range of counseling services provided by HUD-funded agencies and the issues that agencies grappled with during the early years of the national housing and foreclosure crisis. This report was based on a large-scale survey of housing counseling agencies throughout the country and in-depth interviews with industry experts.

In 2011, Abt researchers completed studies of the housing outcomes achieved by people who receive pre-purchase, or foreclosure mitigation, counseling from HUD-funded counseling agencies.  For these studies, also conducted for HUD, Abt partnered with housing counseling agencies across the country to track approximately 500 pre-purchase clients and 800 foreclosure mitigation clients through the counseling process. The studies document the counseling services received and the housing outcomes achieved by clients at six and 18 months following these services.

Abt is currently leading a random assignment evaluation of pre-purchase homeownership education and counseling.  The Abt team is partnering with national lenders and counseling providers to enroll potential homebuyers in up to 20 cities.  The evaluation will follow the study participants for several years, examining the impact of counseling services on participants’ home purchase decisions, financial management behaviors, and homeownership outcomes.