The Week Ahead: Narrowing the Homeownership Divide

On Wednesday, June 29, in recognition of homeownership month, the Urban Institute and National Housing Conference will be co-hosting an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., “Catalysts for Change: Reducing the Racial Homeownership Gap,” from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

The event will feature remarks from Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo and a lunchtime fireside chat with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Panels include discussions of vertical and horizontal alignment of federal programs and resources, and best practices for closing the homeownership from local stakeholders.

The “A Closer Look: Federal Interventions in Homeownership Disparities” panel will take aim at narrowing the homeownership gap through intersectional policy solutions that recognize the changing dynamics of the first-time homeownership market. This panel will explore various facets of the racial homeownership gap, including the lack of affordable housing, fair access to quality credit, digitization, and the consumer. Panelists will discuss how these pieces can be addressed to create a holistic view of how federal housing policy interventions moves the nation toward a more equitable housing system.

Invited speakers for this panel include:

• Daniel Hornung, Special Assistant for Economic Policy to President Joe Biden
• Luis C. Padilla, 2022 President of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP)
• Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance
• Jerry Konter, Chairman of the Board for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
• Vanessa Perry, Professor at the George Washington University School of Business, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center

The second panel, “Local Perspectives: Aligning Federal and Local Policy to Address the Racial Homeownership Gap” focuses on the how, during the pandemic, the federal government acted to prevent millions of Americans from eviction and foreclosure. This unprecedented intervention, operationalized at the state and local levels, serves as a demonstration that collaboration at all levels of government with local stakeholders can have a powerful impact on many Americans. This panel will examine policy solutions and local initiatives working to close the racial homeownership gap with an eye toward how existing and additional federal policy can be harnessed toward complementary ends.

Invited panelists include:

• Chrystal Kornegay, Executive Director of MassHousing
• Christie Peale, Executive Director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods
• Nick Mitchell-Bennett, Executive Director of Come Dream, Come Build
• Monica L. Jefferson, VP & COO, Human Resources of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia
• Sasha Gaye-Angus, a leader in affordable housing and community development

Click here for more information or to register for “Catalysts for Change: Reducing the Racial Homeownership Gap.”

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

• House Committee on Financial Services Virtual Hearing “Where Have All the Houses Gone? Private Equity, Single-Family Rentals, and America’s Neighborhoods" (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• House Committee on Financial Services will host a Virtual Hearing “Boom and Bust: Inequality, Homeownership, and the Long-Term Impacts of the Hot Housing Market" (Wednesday)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
• U.S. Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)