For Immediate Release

June 1, 2005
Contact: Becky Fleischauer, NeighborWorks America, 202-220-2360

 

Affordable Housing Concerns Rank Highest on Record:
Findings Reflect Fears About Growing Barriers to Homeownership

Washington, D.C. – Affordable housing topped jobs and the economy as an issue of national urgency, according to a new poll released this week by the National Association of Realtors®. The concern is at the highest point on record in the poll’s three-year history. “These poll results reflect concern about the increasing costs of homeownership, the barriers to ownership that consumers face and the public will to address these barriers,” declared NeighborWorks® America CEO Ken Wade.

Wade called on communities to increase homeownership education and counseling to help consumers understand what “affordable” means and how it can be placed within their reach.

To date NeighborWorks organizations across the nation provided more than 500,000 people with pre- and post-purchase guidance and education. The National Association of Realtors has supported NeighborWorks America’s efforts in this area. Homebuyers are counseled to find an affordable mortgage rate, locate downpayment assistance, budget for their monthly payments, plan for contingencies such as repairs, and avoid delinquency with better money management skills. NeighborWorks has found that for those receiving high-quality education and counseling, mortgage default rates are substantially reduced. Wade has set a goal to triple NeighborWorks national capacity to serve more than two million individuals each year by 2007.

Although homeownership education and counseling capacity is growing, Wade projects a ‘counseling gap’ because the number of consumers who could benefit from such homeownership education and counseling is growing at a pace too fast to serve. At the current rate, from 2005 to 2025, millions of first-time buyers will go uncounseled and be at a greater risk for default.

 

 

About the NeighborWorks Network
The NeighborWorks network is a nationwide network of more than 235 community development organizations working in nearly 2,700 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. NeighborWorks America provides financial support, technical assistance and training for the NeighborWorks network. In the last five years alone, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $8.5 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 500,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.