PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO INCREASE HOMEOWNERSHIP BY LATINOS
BOSTON -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development will use advertising, education and counseling
programs to boost the homeownership rate of Latinos across the
United States, Secretary Henry Cisneros announced today.
HUD will work with mortgage lending institutions and Latino
groups to achieve a goal of 47 percent homeownership for Latinos
by the year 2000, Cisneros said. At the beginning of this year,
41.4 percent of Latino households were homeowners, compared with
65.1 percent of total U.S. households.
Cisneros was in Boston to address the National Conference of
the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest
and largest Hispanic organization in the United States.
"Our mission is to make the dream of homeownership a reality
for millions more American families," Cisneros said. "We have set
an ambitious but attainable goal to boost the homeownership rate
for Latinos by the end of the century."
"Homeownership allows families to improve their living
conditions and to build equity instead of seeing rent money
disappear forever," Cisneros said. "It allows families to create
a legacy for their children and strengthens neighborhoods."
Achieving the 47 percent Latino homeownership goal will
require helping about 900,000 Latino households to become
homeowners over the next four years.
Cisneros said the new initiative includes:
- $4 million for a Spanish and English advertising and
marketing program this year to inform Latinos of homeownership
opportunities -- a 33 percent increase from last year.
- Homebuyer education and counseling outreach programs,
along with written materials and broadcast public service
announcements, offered in Spanish and English and geared to the
needs of Latinos in areas with large Hispanic populations.
- Expanding a toll-free telephone line, which offers
homeownership information, to respond to calls in Spanish. The
number is: 1-800-CALL FHA. Callers will receive a packet of
information in Spanish on buying a home and explaining Federal
Housing Administration mortgage programs.
- Working with lending institutions to help them better
understand the needs of Latinos and better serve the community.
Programs supported by the new initiative will give Latinos
information about budgeting, credit, flexible downpayment
programs, programs that assist first-time homebuyers, home
maintenance and other homeownership issues.
The FHA, a government-owned mortgage insurer that is part of
HUD, already works with lenders to insure 41 percent of home
financing used by Hispanic Americans.
The National Council of La Raza and the National Hispanic
Housing Council will work with HUD on the initiative, as will
lending institutions and other groups that are part of the
National Partners in Homeownership.
The Partners is a coalition of 58 national organizations
representing lenders, real estate professionals, home builders,
non-profit groups and federal, state and local governments. It
was formed a year ago to increase homeownership.
Belen Robles, National President of LULAC, said the HUD
program will improve the lives of many families. "HUD is giving
people the information and help they need to become homeowners,"
Robles said. "Latinos still suffer from discrimination, and
immigrants have difficulty with English. Some think they are
unable to afford homeownership even when they actually can."
President Clinton's commitment to increased homeownership by
all Americans was spelled out in the National Homeownership
Strategy issued a year ago. The strategy helped bring the
nation's homeownership rate to a 15-year high this year.
The President has committed the nation to achieving a record
overall homeownership rate of 67.5 percent in the year
2000 -- up from the current 65.1 percent. Since 1993, the number
of American homeowners has increased by more than 3 million. The
goal of the National Homeownership Strategy is to increase the
number of homeowners by 8 million by the year 2000.
Content Archived: January 20, 2009
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