Sep10
By: Michelle Singletary WASHINGTON – The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Bros. 10 years ago this month shot off a flare that signaled that an already weak economy was in deep trouble. Caught in the storm that led to the financial crisis were homeowners who found themselves underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owed more than Continue Reading
Aug16
By Tim Henderson OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Two decades ago, Frederick Veazey was drawn to this suburban idyll by the usual things: grass, peace and quiet, good schools. But in choosing where to raise his sons and daughter, the successful insurance broker also wanted something else. “We wanted our kids to grow up in a Continue Reading
Aug14
BY KATE MARTIN August 10, 2018 03:16 PM Updated August 11, 2018 09:30 AM Honorably discharged after serving in the Korean War, the young man looked to settle down in Tacoma with his wife. If only they could convince someone to show them a home. If they got to a house first, the real estate Continue Reading
Jul13
Harvard Study: Housing Outlook Mixed (Part 1) By Timothy L. Coyle Consultant specializing in housing issues Tuesday, July 10th, 2018 When it comes to housing as a national matter, there’s good news and bad news. At a minimum, it can be said that demographic changes – particularly the rise in household formation coming from expanding millennial Continue Reading
Jul13
The homeownership rate among millennials ages 25 to 34 is around 8 percentage points lower than Gen Xers and baby boomers was in the same age group. Student loans are one of the factors at play in deciding to put off settling down. Homeownership eludes millions of millennials. A new report by the Urban Institute, Continue Reading
Jul13
Violet Ikonomova Kevin Dickerson’s Detroit home was tax-foreclosed and sold in the Wayne County auction last year. The home had been built at his grandmother’s behest in 1950, at a time when black home ownership was extremely rare. African American homeownership has plunged further in Michigan than in any other state, from 51 percent in Continue Reading
Jul13
Fair Housing Video Competition Results We are excited to announce the prize winners of the video competition held to commemorate NAREB’s observance of the 50th Anniversary of the Passage of the Fair Housing Act. The submissions were all worthy, and we thank each of the NAREB chapters that thoughtfully produced videos and shared their work. But, competitions Continue Reading
Jun25
Housing affordability hit its worst level in nearly a decade during the first quarter, according to Attom Data Solutions. Attom measures affordability by comparing average wages to median home prices to determine the share of income people need to spend on housing. Prospective buyers needed to shell out more because mortgage rates rose. The pace Continue Reading
Jun22
By Christopher G. Cox June is National Homeownership Month Potential homebuyers are encouraged to explore incentives during National Homeownership Month. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, there might be no better time than June, which is annually recognized by such organizations as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Department of Continue Reading
May27
University students often keep late hours—so it’s unsurprising to see them asleep amidst books and papers in libraries and common rooms. And yet, when a white Yale student saw Lolade Siyonbola, a black graduate student, had drifted off while writing a paper in their dorm’s common room, she assumed something was wrong—and called the police. The Continue Reading
May24
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection found black applicants were rejected at more than double the rate of non-Hispanic white applicants on all types of loans (iStock) By Kenneth R. HarneyMay 23 at 6:30 AMEmail the author For millions of Americans hoping to buy or refinance a home, it’s a crucial make-or-break question: Will the lender Continue Reading
May21
Buying a house: 3 steps, 3 payments Buying a home usually occurs in stages: You provide an earnest money check to open escrow (often, when you make an offer on the home) The lender will verify that your down payment comes from an acceptable source You’ll bring your down payment and closing costs (less earnest Continue Reading
May15
Photo by Mary McCusker Curtis Johnson, senior housing director for Catholic Charities USA, speaks at the Free Housing and Resource Fair held at Catholic Charities’ Camden office on April 23. The event was sponsored in collaboration with the Southern New Jersey chapter of NAREB (National Association of Real Estate Brokers). Also pictured is James Andrews, Continue Reading
May14
NNPAFREDDIE MAY 9, 2018 Charlene Crowell talks about the role that the Fair Housing Administration played in discriminating against Black homebuyers in the housing market. By Charlene Crowell (Deputy Communications Director, Center for Responsible Lending) In the classic movie film, “Gone with the Wind,” the owner of the Tara plantation admonished his daughter for remarking Continue Reading
Apr23
21st century, discrimination in the housing market against African-Americans remains far from rare. Although the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reported that the most blatant forms of housing discrimination have declined since 1977, it revealed that home seekers of color are currently told about and shown fewer homes and apartments than whites, a discriminatory practice Continue Reading
Apr23
By Christopher G. Cox (Publisher/Managing Editor, realesavvy.com) One of the signature achievements of the Civil Rights Era was the passage by Congress in April of 1968 of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), also known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Looking back on this historic legislative accomplishment, Majurial “MJ” Watkins, president Continue Reading
Apr20
Mortgage Denial Rates Fall, but Racial Gap Persists: Black Applicants Twice as Likely as Whites to be Denied a Conventional Loan SEATTLE/ April 19, 2018 (STLRealEstate.News) — Mortgage applications are denied at the lowest rate in the past 20 years, yet a stark divide remains between potential homebuyers of different racial groups. Nationally, the share Continue Reading
Apr20
https://therealdeal.com/2018/04/19/black-applicants-twice-as-likely-as-whites-to-get-denied-for-mortgage-loans-study/ A stark racial disparity still exists when it comes to receiving mortgage loans. Although overall mortgage applications are getting denied at their lowest rate in the past 20 years, black applicants are still twice as likely as white applicants to get denied for a conventional loan, according to a new study from Zillow. The overall share of Continue Reading
Apr15
CreditLinda Huang By The Editorial Board April 14, 2018 For generations of white American families, homeownership has been a fundamental means of accumulating wealth. Their homes have grown in value over time, providing security in retirement and serving as an asset against which they can borrow for education or other purposes. But African-Americans were essentially shut Continue Reading
Apr11
COMMENTARY – Fair Housing Act: A Milestone on the Journey to Equality By Jeffrey W. Hicks, President, National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) A half-century ago, the Fair Housing Act was enacted to prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, color, creed and national origin. The law also supported NAREB’s efforts to increase Continue Reading