BLACK REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS URGE BLACK AMERICA TO BUILD WEALTH THOUGH HOMEOWNERSHIP

For Immediate Release

National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) to meet in Las Vegas for the first of four-part regional conferences with plan to help jumpstart homeownership among Black Americans.

Washington, DC (February 15, 2017) – The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) will convene the first of its four-part Mid-Winter Regional Conference series in Las Vegas, NV to spark Interest among Black Americans that homeownership is the single most effective method to build wealth.  Meeting under the banner, “Building Black Wealth Through Homeownership,” conference attendees will hear NAREB’s aggressive national strategy to reboot and reset the dialogue that homeownership is still possible, desirable and the key to building wealth for Black Americans. The 2017 NAREB Mid-Winter Regional Conference-West is scheduled for February 16-18, 2017, at the Suncoast Hotel, 9090 Alta Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89145.

“Homeownership is the first step on the road to wealth building.  Black Americans lag far behind with a homeownership rate of 41.7%, as compared to a 72.2% for non-Hispanic whites.  This gap…this wealth and homeownership gap is unacceptable to NAREB.,” said Ron Cooper, president of NAREB, the oldest professional minority real estate trade association formed in 1947 to assist and advocate for Black soldiers returning from service in WWII and unable to purchase homes of their choice.

Latest available Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for Las Vegas analyzed by LendingPatterns™, indicates that of the 18,311 loans made in 2015 where race was known, only 905, or 4.9% of those loans were granted to Black Americans; even though they represented 11.1% of the city’s population. Moreover, Black Americans were denied mortgage loans at a rate of 22.13% compared to a denial rate of 16.12% for whites. The report also noted that the average loan amount in Las Vegas in 2015 was just under $232,900. (LendingPatterns™ is an online HMDA data analysis software program developed by ComplianceTech.)

Cooper added, “NAREB’s new “2 Million New Black Homeowners in 5 Years” program has been launched to reverse the loss of wealth in our communities.  Black Americans never experienced the economic recovery after the country’s 2008 meltdown.  It’s time that we join forces with financial institutions, mortgage lenders, social, economic and civil organizations, and housing counselors to start wealth building activity in our nation’s urban areas.  Economic security for Black Americans is a national issue that we intend to keep front and center and make happen.” Conferees representing Black real estate practitioners, housing counselors, financial services and mortgage lending professionals from five western states are expected to attend the three-day event.

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. Speakers scheduled to present during the Opening Session on Friday, February 17, 8:30a.m.-10:00 a.m. include Tammy Gray-Thomas, Director, Las Vegas Field Office, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada State Demographer.

On Saturday, February 18, 2017, NAREB is hosting the Community Wealth Building Day at Mountain Top Faith Ministries, 2845 Lindell Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89146, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The free event is open to all Las Vegas 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 will receive a free credit report and assessment.

The Community Wealth Building Day is the culminating event of NAREB’S 2017 Mid-Winter Regional Conferences, this year being held in four hub cities that will kick off in Las Vegas, NV (February 16-18), continuing in Charlotte, NC (March 9-11), (Prince George’s Co., MD (April 6-8), and concluding in Cleveland, OH (April 20-23).

For more information, visit: www.nareb.com