Contact: Joanne Williams
202-364-0024 ● jlwilliams@barrington-associates.com
For Immediate Release
Memphis, TN site of the second national Mid-Winter hub conference convened by the
National Association of Real Estate Brokers to rebuild Black wealth through homeownership.
Washington, DC (March 3, 2016) The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) will convene the second of its four-part Mid-Winter Regional Conference series in Memphis, TN with plans to launch a nationwide wealth building initiative focused on Black Americans and increased homeownership. Meeting under the banner, “Rebuilding Black Wealth Through Homeownership,” NAREB anticipates record levels of attendance by Black real estate practitioners, financial services executives, mortgage lending professionals, and housing counselors.
During the three-day event, NAREB will outline and address the documented disparities in mortgage lending practices along with government policies that have failed to support economic recovery in Black communities. The conference is scheduled for March 10-13, 2016, at the Sheraton Memphis Hotel, 250 N. Main Street.
“NAREB is taking the lead to re-build Black wealth through homeownership. Our goal is work to generate two million new Black homeowners in five years,” said Ron Cooper, 29th President of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), a real estate trade association established in 1947 to advocate for Democracy in Housing for Black Americans and equal opportunity for Black real estate professionals.
“First, we have to raise awareness about the challenges confronting our communities; then develop and implement workable strategies to reverse this stagnating Black homeownership rate that’s now hovering at 42 percent, down from a high of 49 percent in 2006. In comparison, homeownership rates for non-Hispanic whites is approximately 74 percent,” Cooper added.
Latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for Memphis analyzed by Lending Patterns™, indicates that of the 4,256 loans made in 2014, only 359, or 8.4 percent (8.4%) of those loans were granted to Black American purchasers; even though they represented 63.3 percent (63.3%) of the city’s population. The report also noted that the average loan amount in Memphis in 2014 was just under $149,000. (LendingPatterns™ is an online HMDA data analysis software program developed by ComplianceTech.)
“The home purchase scenario in Memphis is not unlike other parts of the country. NAREB’s mission rests in ensuring that Black Americans and others disproportionately affected by the devastating economic meltdown, have the opportunity to rebuild their economic legacy either lost or drastically diminished during the nation’s near financial collapse,” Cooper emphasized
On Saturday, March 12, 2016, NAREB is hosting Community Wealth Building Day at the Middle Baptist Church, 801 Whitehaven Lane, Memphis TN from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The free event is open to all Memphis area residents. Sessions throughout the day will provide information about why owning a home can positively change financial futures, help residents better understand the home buying process and how to sustain a newly purchased home. The first 75 people at the door receive a free credit report and assessment.
The Community Wealth Building Day is the culminating event of NAREB’s three-day 2016 Mid-Winter Regional Conferences, this year being held in four hub cities; The four-city tour kicked off in Oakland, CA (February 18-20), continuing in Memphis (March 10-12), and (Philadelphia, PA (April 7-9), with the final hub conference in Chicago, IL (April 21-23). refinansavimas be turto įkeitimo ir paskolos iš žmonių
For more information and to register for the professional real estate conference, visit www.nareb.com.
About NAREB:
The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) was formed in 1947 to secure the right to equal housing opportunities for all regardless of race, creed, or color. NAREB has 90 chapters located nationwide and publishes annually The State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) Report. Visit www.nareb.com for more information.