Building a More Equitable, Sustainable Housing Ecosystem

The American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC) will host a webinar on July 22 titled, “Leading Beyond a Crisis: Driving Sustainable Homeownership in Diverse Communities.”

The webinar will be held at 2-3 p.m. CDT.

AMDC’s Chair of the Education and Community Outreach Subcommittee, Joe Velasquez, SVP, Neighborhood Lending, Bank of American, will lead a panel of experts who delve into the ways minority households are stressed during times of crisis.

The webinar will also outline the steps mortgage professional can take to build a sustainable, equitable, and diverse housing ecosystem.

Industry leaders participating in this webinar, along with Velasquez, are Dionne Cuello, VP, Diverse Market Segments, Citi; Suzy Lindblom, COO, Planet Home Lending; Alanna McCargo, VP, Housing Finance Policy Center, Urban Institute, and Lenny McNeil, EVP, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage.

“The disparities in Black homeownership existed prior to COVID-19, and the pandemic threatens to worsen outcomes for Black and Latino renters and homeowners. We know they are more likely to hold jobs in sectors being directly affected by COVID-19, have less wealth to help them weather income losses, and are reporting higher rates of missed rent and mortgage payments and are less confident of making future ones," said Alanna McCargo, VO, Housing Finance Policy Center, Urban Institue. "The Mortgage Markets COVID-19 Collaborative convened by Urban’s Housing Finance Policy Center is engaging with folks from across the housing finance ecosystem, consumer advocates and data providers, and our staff is analyzing data to better understand the equity implications of the crisis, as well as the policy responses to it thus far.”

Lindblom said that while this topic is always important, it holds special significance with both the COVID-19 pandemic and the national diversity crisis.

"We, as an industry, must stand up and come up with solutions to combat the challenge of lack of homeownership within the diverse communities," she said. "We need to get to the root of the problem and come up with viable solutions to start the education early on with diverse communities, not only in homeownership but financial responsibility and assisting with job opportunities, training.

"We need to make sure that we help with education starting in our schools, working with parents in the education of their children. If you come from a family of renters, there is no avenue in learning the benefits, the steps to become a homeowner. This is critical, to move to the root of the problem—we have to stop the cycle and opening up avenues for outreach to these communities to reach the financial security they deserve.

Please visit the following link to register for the webinar.