Several real estate organizations have launched a new initiative designed to expand home-ownership opportunities for Latino families in California.
The initiative is an effort by Freddie Mac, the California Association of Realtors, Chase Home Finance, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the League of United Latin American Citizens, with assistance from the California Housing Finance Agency. The initiative aims to increase real estate professionals’ understanding of how to reach and serve the Latino homebuyer and to help Latinos learn about home-buyer assistance programs that are offered through city, county and state housing agencies.
One component of the initiative is a new course, “Effectively Serving the Latino Homebuyer,” developed by Freddie Mac and Chase Home Finance. The course, offered though CAR and NAHREP, provides strategies for reaching and communicating with the Latino home buyer, as well as information on home-ownership assistance programs available in the state.
As part of the initiative, the California Housing Finance Agency is offering its down payment assistance programs to qualified borrowers and providing mortgage insurance. In addition, LULAC will reach out to potential Latino home buyers through workshops and home-ownership fairs. The workshops will provide prospective home buyers with information about the home-buying process, including to access state and local down-payment assistance programs.
In California, 43 percent of the Latino population are homeowners. Recent Freddie Mac research indicates that only half the gap between minority and white home-ownership rates is explained by income, age of household and other known demographic factors.
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