HUDLines Region IX News
Serving (California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Pacific)

December 2014

View the published version of the Newsletter with photos

• Note from the Regional Administrator
• HUD Secretary Julián Castro Visits Las Vegas and Los Angeles

Note from the Regional Administrator Ophelia B. Bascal

HUD's San Francisco regional office is moving! On Monday, December 8, we will open for business on the 12th floor of One Sansome in downtown San Francisco, between Bush and Sutter.

For ten years our federal offices were located at 600 Harrison Street at the corner of Harrison and Second Streets. The new office space at One Sansome will offer our customers and visitors easier and direct access to the building from the Montgomery BART station, as well as MUNI bus lines.

The HUD Region IX phone numbers will stay the same. The public can still reach our Customer Service reception at (415) 489-6410 and our Fair Housing Department at (415) 489-6524 or (800) 347-3739, ext. 6524. Our office hours will also stay the same: 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m, Monday through Friday, and closed on Federal holidays.

Our One Sansome location address is:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
One Sansome Street, Suite 1200
San Francisco, California 94104-4430

We are looking forward to serving you at our new location. We wish all of our stakeholders and partners a happy and safe Thanksgiving and holiday season.

We'll see you in our new location in December!

HUD Secretary Julián Castro Visits Las Vegas and Los Angeles

On October 21, Secretary Castro was the keynote speaker at the annual convention of the National Mortgage Bankers Association in Las Vegas. Secretary Castro said, "HUD is the Department of Opportunity because quality housing and strong communities provide the foundation families need to better their lives.

During my listening tour, I asked folks how we could help and for many, the answer was to reopen the doors to homeownership for every American who is ready to buy." He addressed the need for stable, affordable housing for all Americans and the very real need for more Americans, especially the minorities, to gain access to credit to make more homeownership possible. Secretary Castro visited the HUD Las Vegas office to meet with the employees.

On Thursday, November 13, Secretary Castro visited the HUD Los Angeles field office and met with HUD employees and spoke about the importance of the programs, services and opportunities that HUD provides to families. That afternoon, Secretary Castro participated in an energy efficiency roundtable hosted by Promise Energy entitled Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Affordable Housing.

On the morning of Friday, November 14, he toured the Rosslyn Hotel, a veterans' homeless complex and then he visited the Los Angeles Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trangender (LGBT) Center. Later that afternoon Secretary Castro was the keynote speaker at the California Association of Realtors held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. He spoke to an audience of nearly 300 real estate executives and practitioners, industry stakeholders, economists, and policymakers at the inaugural Real Estate Summit: Partnering for Change in California. He addressed the need for housing finance reform and expanding access to credit, particularly for communities of color because lending to minorities is at a 14-year low after they were the hardest hit by the economic crisis.

The following day, Secretary Castro joined Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti for an event to end homelessness. "President Obama has set a goal of effectively ending homelessness by the year 2020 and ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015," he said. "The folks who have served our nation should never go homeless."

• HUD Secretary Castro Repeats Mantra Of "Credit Is Too Tight": Confounded Interest
• Castro: Credit is the Lifeblood of Housing Industry: MBA Newslink (www.mortgagebankers.org/tools/FullStory.aspx?ArticleId=52465#full)
• HUD Chief Chides Lenders for 'Leaving Money on the Table': National Mortgage News (www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/regulation/hud-chief-chides-lenders-for-leaving-money-on-the-table-1042928-1.html)
• Mel Watt and Julian Castro announce housing policy: HousingWire (www.housingwire.com/articles/31770-mel-watt-and-julian-castro-announce-housing-policy-changes)
• Hopes rise for mortgage lending thaw from FHFA move: MarketWatch (www.marketwatch.com/story/hopes-rise-for-mortgage-lending-thaw-from-fhfa-move-2014-10-20?link=MW_latest_news)
• President Obama wants to end homelessness by 2020: UPI (www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/11/16/President-Obama-wants-to-end-homelessness-by-the-year-2020/1061416186904/)
• HUD Secretary Announces President Obama's Goal.
• HUD Secretary to Keynote CAR.
• Real Estate Summit: Center for California Real Estate (http://centerforcaliforniarealestate.org/events/summit.html)
• HUD Secretary Julián Castro Stresses Need for Expanding Credit and Reforming Housing Finance System at C.A.R.'s Inaugural Real Estate Summit.
• HUD secretary says L.A., nation on track to house all homeless vets: LA Times (www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-house-all-veterans-20141115-story.html)
• HUD Secretary Julián Castro Stresses Need for Expanding Credit and Reforming Housing Finance System at C.A.R.'s Inaugural Real Estate Summit: CNBC (www.cnbc.com/id/102213437#.)

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