Housing Symposium

Overview

The Greenlining Institute, California Community Builders, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will hold an important convening entitled, Reviving Homeownership: Restoring Access to the American Dream for Communities of Color, on April 19, 2012 at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in Los Angeles.  Thomas Curry, FDIC Director and Presidential nominee for the Comptroller of the Currency will give the morning keynote address. Edward DeMarco, Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director, has agreed to be our lunchtime keynote speaker.  

We expect to gather 75-100 housing thought leaders to attend this event.  Participants will include non-profit leaders, government officials, and private sector representatives interesting in preserving homeownership for communities of color.

Reviving Homeownership

Homeownership has long been a key part of the American Dream and is still the largest wealth building mechanism for households of color, as they hold 61% of their net worth in home equity. Owning a home provides stability, security, and a long-term savings vehicle for families. Unfortunately, for communities of color and working class communities, the dream of homeownership is fading. Impending regulatory, legislative and industry changes to our housing finance system may make the dream of homeownership even harder to attain in coming years.

We know that when done right, homeownership helps families build prosperity. The purpose of this symposium is to gather experts and thought leaders to critically think of solutions for reviving the dream of homeownership. Participants will work to develop a proactive agenda, called the "Homeownership Marshall Plan," that lays out a strategy to ensure that communities of color are fundamentally apart of new and sustainable homeownership policy agenda.

Panels & Speakers

Panel One: The Role of Government in Making Homeownership Accessible to all Communities

The Government has long played a supportive role in homeownership. But is governments still a partner in creating pathways to homeownership? Has government given up on homeownership and moved its resources to rental policies? How can government play a stronger role in protect the dream of homeownership?

Panelists:

·         Claudia Cappio, Executive Director , California Housing Finance Agency

·         Sarah Gerecke, Senior Policy Advisor , Single Family Office, HUD

·         Harold Simon, Director, National Housing Institute

Panel Two: Capital and Finance Innovation to Promote Homeownership

Lending sintitutions are a large gatekeeper of opportunity and wealth. Enhanced opportunity to capital creates greater leverage for communities to thrive. In current crisis, how can the private industry be innovative in preserving homeownership opportunities?  Where will the finance and capital come from? What should the secondary market look like? What are elements of a sustainable mortgage?  How can the community based organizations play a stronger role in advancing homeownership?

Panelists:

·         Brad Blackwell, Executive Vice President, Retail Sales, Wells Fargo

·         Steve Zuckerman, Managing Partner, Self-Help

·         Marietta Nunez, Vice President, Community Lending, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

·         Doug Brian, Co-founder and Managing Director, Waypoint Homes

·         Elyse D. Cherry, CEO, Boston Community Capital

Working Group Session: Creating a Homeownership Marshall Plan

Attendees will work in 4 groups to discuss concepts and ideas from the day's discussion and previous knowledge to create a plan of action. These plans will be compiled by a cohort of advocates and presented at a later date.

For any inquries, please contact sashaw@greenlining.org.