The conference, entitled The Housing Affordability Opportunity: Lowering Costs and Expanding Supply is a two part event hosted in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International and Enterprise Community Partners and will focus on the issue of expanding housing across the nation.
Read More »FICO Releases Alternative Credit Pilot Program
After extensive research, data scientists from FICO found that info such as property records, telecommunications, and utility information can be used as reliable sources to score 15 million consumers who do not have enough credit data to generate FICO score. By using this alternative data from LexisNexis and Equifax, FICO will give card issuers a FICO score that complies with relevant regulations that they can use to extend credit responsibly to millions of additional people.
Read More »HUD Secretary: FHA is Exploring Alternative Credit Scoring for Mortgage Borrowers
Co-hosted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), The Asian Real Estate Association of America, and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the event included two roundtable discussions and a keynote address from Castro. Realtors within these organizations believe in safe access to mortgage credit for borrower who can show they are able to own a home and keep up with payments. However, due to restrictive lending many of the qualified borrowers are not able to enter the housing market, according to NAR President Chris Polychron.
Read More »HUD Secretary Proposes Budget for 2016
Secretary Castro said combatting homelessness is a crucial component to the budget. According to Secretary Castro living in a safe, stable home is one of the biggest predictors of a child’s success in both school and overall health. He said that’s why the HUD budget is also “proposing funding that would effectively end chronic homelessness and make significant strides in our work to end homelessness among families and youth.”
Read More »HUD Secretary Julian Castro Says America is in ‘Affordable Housing Crisis’
At a time where more and more people are moving into cities, Castro said there are 7.7 million low-income households that pay more than half their incomes on rent, and don’t receive any government assistance.
Read More »HUD Secretary Testifies Before House Committee About Department’s Budget Increase
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro addressed the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Wednesday on the Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal for HUD, where he emphasized ...
Read More »HUD Chief Faces Questions on FHA’s Financial Position
Castro faced the House Committee on Financial Services and explained why he believes that FHA is in a "strong" position to lower its premiums by 50 basis points down to 0.85 percent despite the MMI Fund's value falling well short of the 2 percent threshold it is required by law to maintain.
Read More »HUD Secretary Prepares to Meet House Committee
This will be the first time Castro has testified before Congress since being named HUD Secretary in July 2014. In recent public appearances, such as a speech at the National Press Club and in a fireside chat-style meeting last month, Castro has touted 2015 as a "year of housing opportunity."
Read More »HUD Secretary Talks Opportunities, Challenges for Housing in 2015
In a live-streamed "fireside chat" with Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries, HUD Secretary Julian Castro reiterated that 2015 will be a "year of housing opportunity," reusing a phrase he coined in a National Press Club appearance earlier this month.
Read More »HUD Secretary to Talk Housing in ‘Live Fireside Chat’
HUD Secretary Julian Castro will answer questions about a variety of housing topics in a fireside-chat style event on the morning after President Obama's State of the Union speech on Wednesday at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Castro is expected to discuss such topics as the Obama administration's most recent housing initiatives, responsible homeownership, making the decision to buy or rent, and resources available to first-time homebuyers.
Read More »