Does housing counseling change consumer financial behaviors? Evidence from Philadelphia

Pre-purchase homeownership counseling is a social service for low- to moderate-income households intent on becoming first-time homeowners. Despite the record number of low- and moderate-income households achieving first-time homeownership over the past decade, there is little research on housing counseling's effectiveness, in terms of long-term positive financial behaviors. In addition, the research community has traditionally adhered to a proscribed definition of success within programs, which hinders evaluative efforts. This paper examines whether counseled borrowers have experienced financial behavior changes within 5years after having purchased a home. There were mixed results regarding overall financial behavior changes. Agency identity had little influence on some counselees' behaviors, while counseling agency characteristics had some limited effects on client behaviors. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.