WASHINGTON, DC. - Today and as part of the annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 47th Annual Legislative Conference, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) will convene a panel of housing stakeholders this afternoon. The session entitled, “State of Housing in Black America: Considering the Future,” will examine mortgage industry practices, and whether the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010, created barriers for African-Americans seeking homeownership opportunities.
Nikitra Bailey, an executive vice president with the Center for Responsible Lending will be among the thought leaders discussing the nation’s housing’s future and released the following statement:
Contrary to naysayer predictions, Dodd-Frank's mortgage protections and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's related new mortgage regulations did not produce a decrease in mortgage accessibility for homebuyers. Instead, these reforms, created as a proportional response to the foreclosure crisis, have resulted in more mortgage loans becoming available to a broader cross-section of consumers. In fact, much of this increase can be attributed to the common-sense standard that now requires lenders to assess a borrower’s ability to repay. That key requirement creates a triple-win -- for lenders, consumers and the housing industry.
Even with these improvements, however, too many African-Americans remain locked out of the opportunity to buy a home and build wealth. Current home loan pricing creates barriers to market entry and restricts their ability to secure more conventional loans, while continuing the disproportionate reliance on higher-cost, government-backed loans like FHA.
The future housing finance system must provide fair pricing for all, greater access to more affordable conventional loans, and the preservation of policies that bode well for consumers and lenders alike. The lessons learned from 2008’s "unnatural" disaster should guide us all. That economic crisis reflected flaws in the housing finance system, and not individual borrower actions.
For more information, or to arrange an interview with a CRL spokesperson on this issue, please contact Charlene Crowell at charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.