FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Laya Gavin
Broker Owner
EXIT Realty Sun City
623-552-3255
laya@exitrealtysuncity.com
Government & Industry Leaders Address NAREB 75th Annual Convention
Affordable Housing and Increasing Minority Homeownership
Tampa, FL (Grassroots Newswire) 08/25/2022 --
In Tampa, Florida NAREB, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the nation’s oldest trade organization celebrated it 75th Anniversary at a convention attended by members from over 100 chapters all over the country.
Housing represents 17% of the US economy and for the first time in history, two Black women stand at the helm of the lead agencies that shape housing policy. Sandra Thompson, Director of FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) and Alana McCargo, President of GinnieMae. In NAREB’s Legislative Update session entitled “Shaping U.S. Housing Policy, Two Dynamic Black Women” attendees heard from and felt the passion of each of these women. Recently confirmed, Sandra Thompson, Director of FHFA took the podium and quickly reiterated her dedication to the mission “to ensure the safety and soundness of all of regulated entities and promote equitable, affordable and sustainable housing options throughout the country”, stressing the fact that “liquidity that needs to be provided everywhere, and especially in underserved areas”. Director Thompson’s confirmation was historic as the first Black woman to lead the FHFA. She wants to see how FHFA can help reduce the homeownership gap and maintain support responsible homeownership.
Fannie and Freddie have been instructed to establish plans where previous redlining was the norm that would help empower communities with education and facilitate homeownership. Director Thompson understands the core mission of NAREB and its Realtist network and charged us with the importance of providing the critical full consultation process to the individuals so that they understand the entirety of the homebuying and mortgage evaluation process. She mentioned the ability of lenders to use Special Purpose Credit Programs (granted decades ago) and a renewed support of the programs and reassuring lenders that taking targeted actions to support underserved minority populations and underserved communities, does not violate ECOA (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) nor is it a contradiction to Fair Housing laws – and the use of these programs are being encouraged as a solution to the housing crisis.
Certainly, thin credit history can be an obstacle to buyers and recently a major change in the underwriting loan guidelines has been implemented where rental history can now be included in the credit history of a potential borrower. Previously this was completely ignored in the calculation and the change will help establish positive payment history to help more individuals demonstrate a stronger ability to repay.
Alana McCargo, is the first Black woman to take on the role of President GinnieMae. McCargo shared the fact that the Biden Administration is truly tuned in and focused on the urgency of impacting homeownership in the Black community by advocating for policy advances to remove barriers. She outlined systemic barriers such as lack of access to credit due to lower credit scores, higher student loan debt because of the lack of family wealth to pay out of pocket, appraisal bias, employment bias and more. Now is the time to get all participating parties of the GSE’s at the table to create policy changes to the system and allow for opportunities to increase home ownership. She spoke of the crisis of the shortage of affordable housing units that is crippling particularly Black first-time home buyers and pushing them out of the market.
Before Director Thompson and President McCargo took to the stage, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Marcia Fudge greeted the group via live stream and reiterated her continual commitment increase opportunities for the underserved. In a statement earlier this year, after reviewing NAR’s 2022 Snapshot on Race and Home Buying in America she said, “it is critical that we bridge the racial homeownership gap with intentional solutions that recognize both the persistent history of discrimination and inequity, and the current crisis of housing affordability.”
All in all, the 75th Annual Convention of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the premier association of Black real estate professionals was a combination of professional development, networking, leadership training and exposure to industry and governmental leaders alike. Over 1300, participants and four days of back-to-back sessions jam packed with content to grow and expand real estate careers and exposure to market niches that most licensed real estate professionals do not even think about tapping into. The beauty of a NAREB convention or meeting, is the availability of shared information addressing issues that impact the Black community and shared resources on programs, industry affiliates or legislative changes that are seeking to increase Black homeownership. The lineup of speakers and presenters were a Who’s Who in the industry as well as thought leaders and public figures.
Each year, NAREB publishes its SHIBA Report (State of Housing in Black America) which outlines the issues facing the Black community and the policy agenda that NAREB is fighting for to advocate for change. This is critical because the gap of homeownership between Blacks and Whites is wider today than it was over 50 years ago before the passing of federal fair housing laws. And in the fourth quarter of 2021 Black homeownership dropped down to 45% while Whites increased to 75%, Asians increased to 62% and Hispanics up to 48%. In Arizona the homeownership gap between Blacks and Whites is over 36%. With real estate being one of the predominant indicators of wealth creation, we must fight for and create change in our communities.
Phoenix Realtist Professional Group is the Arizona local Board of NAREB and members all across the Valley who are committed to serving our community and working to provide education, resources and support to increase Black homeownership. A contingent of 5 agents (Candace Eldridge, Ronald Horne, Denise King, Shirley Lewis, and Broker Owner Laya Gavin) from EXIT Realty Sun City, traveled from Arizona to Florida to be present for the event and learn from our national leadership team. Surely the information gained will shape the direction of our business and the tools that we are able to share with the community.
Written by:
Laya Gavin
EXIT Realty Sun City, Broker Owner
Phoenix Realtist Professional Group, Board President for the Arizona NAREB Local Board
Board of Trustee for West and Southeast Realtors® of the Valley Association (WeSERV)
For more information about EXIT Realty Sun City, please call 623-552-3255. EXIT Realty Sun City is located at 18700 N 107th Ave., Ste. 33, Sun City, AZ 85373.
About EXIT Realty:
EXIT Realty is a company founded and built on human potential. A full service, forward-thinking, real estate franchisor with offices across North America, EXIT has to-date paid out more than a half a billion dollars in single-level residual income to its associates. The Expert Marketing Suite™ including geolocation Smart Sign™ technology gives sellers an edge in a competitive marketplace. A portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund, and to-date, $6.8 million has been allocated to charity. For more information, please visit www.exitrealty.com and www.joinexitrealty.com.
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