Report Shows African American Homeowners Are Hard Hit by Foreclosure Crisis

Today NeighborWorks America, the administrator of the Congressionally authorized National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program, announced that of the more than 363,000 homeowners who received foreclosure prevention counseling as a result of NFMC funding through March 31, 2009, 28 percent were African American homeowners, more than twice their representation in the overall public, and more than three times their representation of total homeowners. In all, 53 percent of NFMC Program clients were minority homeowners, or more than twice the overall percent of minority homeowners.

Nationwide, African American homeowners make up only 9 percent of the nation’s homeowners. Twenty-four percent of the nation’s homeowners are racial/ethnic minorities, with Hispanic homeowners accounting for 11 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders accounting for 4 percent.

Also according to the NeighborWorks America NFMC report, which analyzed client data through March 31, 2009, of all NFMC Program clients that held mortgages with interest rates above 8 percent, 35 percent are African American homeowners. Yet African American homeowners only account for 19 percent of the nation’s subprime mortgages.

In addition, African American clients who sought foreclosure prevention counseling were more likely to hold fixed rate mortgages than adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) —
51 percent of clients held fixed rate mortgages, and 38 percent held ARMs, compared to Hispanic clients, who were more likely to hold ARMs (47 percent) than fixed rate mortgages (41 percent). Like African American clients, White clients were more likely to hold fixed rate mortgages (59 percent) than ARMs (31 percent).

The report also noted that lower-income homeowners are likely to have a greater rate of foreclosure starts than higher-income homeowners. Fifty-eight percent of African American NFMC clients reported earning 80 percent or below their Area Median Income.

To learn more, download the latest NFMC report.

Building Up Communities Through Service

A "summer of service" initiative has been launched by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in partnership with the White House. The initiative, United We Serve, encourages people to create meaningful change in their communities by engaging in service.

"Economic recovery is as much about what you're doing in your communities as what we're doing in Washington – and it’s going to take all of us, working together," President Obama said in a video message announcing the initiative. "I'm calling on all of you to make volunteerism and community service part of your daily life and the life of this nation. ... We need individuals, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and our government to be part of this effort."

As part of our participation in this initiative, NeighborWorks America has committed to the following:

• Recruiting 155 employees from across the organization at four hours each to generate 620 hours of service through our employee volunteer service program


• Supporting network organizations in recruiting and deploying volunteers


• Selecting 68 network organizations to have one or more AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers (see related blog post)

Visit serve.gov to learn more about United We Serve. On the site, you can also find volunteer opportunities, register volunteer projects, and share volunteer stories.

Housing Industry Federal Funding Opportunities

Featured now on the nw.org funding opportunities page:

• Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing - now accepting applications on first come first serve basis
• Neighborhood Stabilization Program — Deadline July 17
• Economic Development Administration Grants - Deadline Sept. 30

Learn more about these and other opportunities

Are You Ready for a Lease-Purchase Program?

Lease-Purchase is an increasingly more common neighborhood stabilization approach. A new resource from NeighborWorks America includes a five-point checklist for organizations that are thinking of adopting a lease-purchase program and examples of different program models. The questions posed in this report are meant to help organizations avoid common mistakes in developing a lease-purchase program. Download the report, Are You Ready for a Lease-Purchase Program?

At Risk Teens Impacted by Community Building

KLS.com in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently reported on a NeighborWorks Salt Lake program called YouthWorks that offers teens at risk a paycheck, a chance to grow personally, and help improve their neighborhood. YouthWorks follows a gang intervention model that creates opportunities and builds stronger neighborhoods.

The KLS.com report focused on a work crew of 10 teens that are putting the finishing touches on a home that was deteriorating and vacant. The young men in YouthWorks had gutted it and rebuilt it, to put it on the market.

View video and read the article.