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NAACP
NATIONAL HOUSING CONFERENCE
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The National Housing Conference is a diverse continuum of affordable housing stakeholders that convene and collaborate through dialogue, advocacy, research, and education, to develop equitable solutions that serve our common interest. Our work on racial equity issues is foundational to our mission. We organized the Black Homeownership Collaborative because we recognized that we are always more successful when we collaborate and leverage each other’s important work. NHC serves as the Executive Secretariat of the Collaborative, providing administrative support to its Steering Committee.
HOUSING PRODUCTION
› The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) is a tax credit designed to cover the gap between the cost to build or rehabilitate a home and its market value upon completion. Designed to avoid displacement of current residents, the
NHIA could help build and rehab as many as 200,000 homes over ten years. With 63% of the eligible census tracts having majority-minority populations, we believe NHIA can be a tool to help close the racial homeownership gap. NHIA is the only legislation unanimously endorsed by the
Black Homeownership Collaborative.
› NHC is working with the National Council of
State Housing Agencies and the Homeownership
Alliance to modernize the HOME Investment
Partnerships Program (HOME). Successful HOME reform will ensure that federal resources are spent efficiently and go further, creating more affordable housing.
DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE
› One of NHC’s top legislative priorities is the inclusion of down payment assistance targeted for first-generation homebuyers. Robust funding for a targeted national down payment assistance program for first-generation homebuyers is critical to helping us achieve our 3 by 30 goal of three million net new Black homeowners by 2030.
CREDIT AND LENDING
› In May 2022, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve
Board of Governors, and the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency jointly released a
Notice of Proposed Rule Making to unify the CRA rule for all banks in the US. NHC has convened a diverse group of experts to work through the proposed rule and is planning to submit a comment letter which, among other areas, will focus on how the rule can be a tool to create more racial equity home lending.
› In September of 2021, NHC, along with our members, convened a group of experts to talk about the future role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in affordable housing. The convening opened with a conversation between
David Dworkin and Acting Director Sandra Thompson, as well as research presentations from experts at Fannie CHANGES IN HOMEOWNERSHIP RATES, BY RACE OR ETHNICITY, 1983 – 2021
Mae, Freddie Mac, the Mortgage Bankers
Association, and US
Mortgage Insurers. This was followed by two panels, one from industry practitioners and the other from the regulators. Many of the discussion topics and presentation focused on the priorities of the
Black Homeownership
Collaborative, such as expanding credit access for communities of color, creative ways outreach and marketing, and systematic barriers to closing the racial Finance Plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie homeownership gap. Mac. The final plans reflected many of the recommendations from NHC on behalf of the › In April 2022, the Black Homeownership Black Homeownership Collaborative priorities,
Collaborative and NHC held a Fair Housing including special purpose credit programs, new
Forum that highlighted ways to increase fair credit and rental reporting pilots to expand access to quality credit in communities of credit building efforts for renters, and lowering color. Keynote speaker, Michael J. Hsu, Acting costs for first-time homebuyers through closing,
Comptroller of the Currency, led discussion on mortgage, and insurance cost reduction. initiatives such as the Community Reinvestment
Act and Special Purpose Credit Programs highlighting efforts to expand access to MARKETING AND OUTREACH homeownership for historically marginalized › NHC received funding from the Federal communities. Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to build a consumer-oriented website to provide › NHC led a working group of our members Black homebuyers an opportunity to learn to draft a comment letter on the Enterprises’ about homeownership, the homebuying proposed Duty to Serve Plans for 2022–2024. process, credit and lending issues, and have
The revised plans included many of the access to real estate professionals, lenders recommendations we included in our letter. and homeownership advisors. This site, www.3by30.org, is being launched on the › FHFA released a first-of-its-kind Request first anniversary of the Black Homeownership for Information (RFI) on Equitable Housing Collaborative in Atlanta.
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
Through its designation as a national intermediary by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the National Urban League provides funding and technical support for more than thirty local affiliates in the critical area of housing counseling. This initiative supports the delivery of a wide variety of housing counseling services to homebuyers, homeowners, low- to moderate-income renters, and the homeless. The primary objectives of the program are to expand homeownership opportunities and improve access to affordable housing. Affiliate staff counselors provide guidance and advice to help families and individuals improve their housing conditions and meet the responsibilities of tenancy and homeownership.
STATE OF BLACK AMERICA: A 21ST CENTURY NUL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AGENDA
Powered by the “I am Empowered Community Outreach Campaign,” the League’s Economic Empowerment Agenda is a constellation of programs and partnerships that play a leading role in the economic development strategy for the African American community. Both in its history and on-going work of providing knowledge and other resources to African American individuals, families, and other groups in many communities throughout the nation, the Economic Empowerment agenda actively maintains a commitment to the following key activities regarding the promotion of economic well-being and growth:
› Providing housing counseling through which homeowners and renters can be advised of their rights and other key information related to achieving household stability.
› Leading homeownership education initiatives through which potential homeowners learn the ins and outs of looking for, bidding on, and securing their own homes.
› Conducting initiatives in financial education which are designed to increase the financial preparedness for homeownership and other key assets.
› Training the unemployed and helping those just entering the workforce to become more proficient in job searches, interviewing, performance, and job retention.
› Facilitating urban business growth by combining private, public, and nonprofit sector resources to foster minority entrepreneurship, business development and job creation in historically neglected and economically underserved communities. › Serving specific community needs through planning, implementing, and evaluating technologies designed to maximize efficiency in relation to literacy, education, employment/ workforce development, skills training, and health program delivery systems.
› Giving relevant and marketable training as well as securing employment for senior citizens who are most in need.
The Economic Empowerment agenda achieves its goals through two methods. The first method is the facilitation of self-sufficiency in its many forms and at all levels of the various communities served by Urban League affiliates. The second is to strengthen the feedback mechanisms between the National Office, Urban League affiliates and the communities they serve to understand and tactically respond to local, regional, and national developments affecting the economic state of Black America.
RESTORE OUR HOMES
The goal of Restore Our Homes is to increase financial stability and property values in African American and other minority communities that were harmed by subprime loans and foreclosures. The program aims to improve the services of Urban League affiliates through technical assistance ensuring that they have capacity and resources to serve communities’ housing needs.
This program entails home retention and loss mitigation counseling and client outreach services. Under the Restore Our Homes rubric, Urban League affiliates connect people to housing counseling, homebuyer education, financial education, credit counseling, fair housing advocacy, and foreclosure prevention assistance. Services include:
› Engaging delinquent mortgage borrowers early so they do not face foreclosure.
› Educating homeowners looking to refinance and provide reliable referrals.
› Negotiating with lender/ servicers on behalf of delinquent borrowers to reach sustainable mortgage payment and save their homes.
› Intervening with civil and criminal legal action against predatory lenders.
› Advocating for legislative reforms in residential lending.
The goal of Restore Our Homes is to increase financial stability and property values in African American and other minority communities that were harmed by subprime loans and foreclosures. The program aims to improve the services of Urban League affiliates through technical assistance ensuring that they have capacity and resources to serve communities’ housing needs.
