Blog

Mar26

Housing Resources

We have compiled the following list of housing-related information and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have any additional information or resources, please contact us at antoine.thompson@nareb.com GOVERNMENT RESOURCES Centers for Disease Control Guidelines for Your Home & Family CDC Guidelines for Unsheltered Homelessness CDC Coronavirus Self-Checker Tool US Department of Housing and Continue Reading

Mar26

Federal Agencies Encourage Banks, Savings Associations and Credit Unions to Offer Responsible Small-Dollar Loans to Consumers and Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

Five federal financial regulatory agencies today issued a joint statement encouraging banks, savings associations and credit unions to offer responsible small-dollar loans to consumers and small businesses in response to COVID-19. The statement of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Continue Reading

Mar26

Corona Cash Cometh

Big Businesses and Average Joes are lining up for corona cash. But who’ll get what? This week, Subway and Mattress Firm announced plans to stop paying rent in the coming months due to corona-closures. Millions of workers who recently lost their restaurant and retail jobs would ALSO love to cancel their rent… but they’re even less likely to get Continue Reading

Mar26

Coronavirus Epidemic: Cause for Concern in Real Estate?

A coronavirus named COVID-19, a flu-like virus, is sweeping the globe, already infecting over 90,000 people since it was first identified in late 2019, after originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan. While there is still uncertainty revolving around how quickly the virus spreads, what the true mortality rate is and who is most at Continue Reading

Mar25

With mortgage relief in place, stimulus deal targets homelessness, public housing

Getty Images Federal lawmakers came to an agreement early Wednesday on a $2 trillion stimulus package that will provide additional funds to aid the homeless and potentially provide rental assistance to Americans who have been impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19. The stimulus deal comes a week after President Donald Trump announced a sweeping moratorium Continue Reading

Mar25

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources: All in One

Tips, Tools & Resources Housing, Mortgages & Evictions The two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced unprecedented steps to help borrowers impacted by COVID-19 remain in their homes. Fannie and Freddie announced immediate suspensions of foreclosures and evictions for any borrower affected by the fallout Continue Reading

Mar23

Protecting Your Credit during the Coronavirus Outbreak

As the number of coronavirus cases increases, it is also having a negative impact on the financial health of the economy at large and the economic well-being of individuals across the United States.  The unusual nature of this pandemic has resulted in the temporary closing of schools, cancellation of events and disruption of the distribution Continue Reading

Mar19

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD suspending all foreclosures and evictions

Foreclosure moratorium will last for 60 days. Cities and states across the country are already suspending evictions and foreclosures in response to the spread of the coronavirus, but the federal government is taking the biggest step so far to keep people in their homes. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is suspending Continue Reading

Mar18

Treasury and IRS to delay tax payment deadline by 90 days

By Darla Mercado   KEY POINTS Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that taxpayers can delay paying their income taxes on as much as $1 million in taxes owed for up to 90 days. Ordinarily, individual income taxpayers must submit their 2019 tax returns and pay amounts owed by April 15. The postponement on payments Continue Reading

Mar17

Chief mortgage regulator working on plan for potential spike in delinquencies from coronavirus

KEY POINTS While it takes 90 days for a loan to become delinquent officially, the expectation is that there will certainly be a spike. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already have loan forbearance programs in place, often implemented during natural disasters, but the current situation is neither local nor momentary. “We’re on the front end Continue Reading

Mar09

Black Homeownership Shows Signs of Healing From the Wounds of the Great Recession

By Treh Manhertz The U.S. black homeownership rate surged at the end of the 2010s, and black homeownership was higher by 2018 than its mid-decade average in a majority of the country’s large metro areas. According to the most recent Q4 2019 Housing Vacancy Survey, the black homeownership rate surged 3.4 percentage points in the last two Continue Reading

Mar04

Black homeownership trails other groups. What it means for millennials looking to buy

By Lauren Lindstrom The homeownership rate for black Americans fell under 41% in 2019 — pushing it below the levels in the years immediately after racial discrimination in housing was banned more than 50 years ago. Gaps in homeownership rates exacerbate existing racial wealth disparities and hamper the financial stability of the broader community, said Continue Reading

Feb24

NAREB and NAACP sign ground-breaking agreement today to increase Black homeownership

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and The National Association of Real Estate Brokers have announced a partnership that will help ensure that black individuals and families have access to quality financial education, appropriate financial products, accredited counseling services, and financial assistance to have a better chance at increasing black wealth through homeownership. “NAREB stands together Continue Reading

Feb12

Closing the Racial Ownership Gap: Is It Possible?

The gap between black and white homeownership is greater than it was prior to the Fair Housing Act passage in 1968. No major city has come near to closing the black-white homeownership gap in the U.S., either, even in majority black cities, according to data from the Urban Institute. The consequences of this pressing minority Continue Reading

Feb10

How Closing The Racial Wealth Gap Would Change Black History

One of the more damaging aspects of Black history in America has been the lingering wealth gap along racial lines that disproportionately benefits white people. And while many people have offered up various solutions to first narrow and then close that persistent widening wealth gap between white folks and everybody else, the end goal has Continue Reading

Feb07

How Near North came to be one of Minneapolis’ largest black communities

By Eric Hankin-Redmon The Near North community of Minneapolis—made up of the neighborhoods of Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan, Near North, Sumner-Glenwood, and Willard-Hay—has had a major African American presence since the early 1900s. Distinguished by its own businesses, organizations, and culture, it remains a hub of African American Minnesotan life in the twenty-first century. Minneapolis’ Near North Side Continue Reading

Jan13

How to finance solar panels for your home

By Holly D Johnson You may be wondering why more people are going solar these days, but it’s not hard to see why once you consider the financial — and environmental — benefits. Not only can adding solar panels to your home mean never having to pay an electric bill again, but the investment can Continue Reading

Jan03

A.I. Could Be The New Play To Increase Minority Homeownership

By Kori Hale Artificial Intelligence and its inherent bias may not be as judgmental as previously thought, at least in the case of home loans. It appears the use of algorithms for online mortgage lending can reduce discrimination against certain groups, including minorities, according to a recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Continue Reading

Jan01

The History, Principles, and Symbols of Kwanzaa

By Signe Knutson Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African-American culture. Kwanzaa is observed from December 26th to January 1st, and culminates in gift giving and a big feast.   The holiday is relatively new, compared to other holidays celebrated in the U.S. Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor Continue Reading

Dec17

Conference to address decline of black homeownership

By Buck Wargo A national organization of real estate professionals is coming to Las Vegas in February to “declare war on the decline of black homeownership” and given the rates in Southern Nevada, it will be the perfect locale to spread that message. The midwinter conference of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Continue Reading