Three minority real estate trade groups - the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, (NAHREP), the Asian Real Estate Association of America and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers - will unveil their five-point plan for sustainable minority homeownership during the 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference this week in Washington, D.C.
Leaders from the three groups are appealing to lawmakers during Capitol Hill visits to take actions that stabilize the market, expand consumer protections and preserve liquidity.
"Communities of color remain at great risk," says incoming NAHREP Chairman Alex Chaparro. “We must take commonsense actions that stop the spiral of losses, keep homeowners in place and prevent our neighborhoods from becoming renter communities.”
The three trade associations call for support of the following five-point plan:
expand the scope of Community Reinvestment Act functions to include loan servicing;
mandate pre-purchase, face-to-face home buyer education and household budget management training;
provide principal forgiveness for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage and have more than 10% negative equity;
advocate the role of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to expand the flow of stable capital to the mortgage market; and
promote the role of a consumer protection agency.
Current government programs, while well intended, have had limited impact, especially in minority neighborhoods where the incidence of expensive mortgages and higher unemployment is greater, the groups say.
The organizations additionally cite a report from the Federal Reserve that showed African American borrowers were 1.8 times as likely as white borrowers to be in foreclosure, and Latino and Asian borrowers were 1.4 and 1.3 times more likely, respectively, to be in foreclosure.
