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HUD Celebrates National Homeownership Month

National Homeownership Month 2018

If you weren’t aware that June is National Homeownership Month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development aimed to change that on Thursday, kicking off a new media push and announcing their theme for the month: “Find Your Place.”

“Homeownership serves as an enduring symbol of security and prosperity, and it provides many Americans with a legacy they can pass down to their children and grandchildren,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “During National Homeownership Month, we recognize the abiding value of owning a home, and we rededicate ourselves toward helping hard-working families to find their place in the American dream.”

In the media release, the department spotlights HUD’s legacy, stating, “Since 1934, more than 47 million households purchased a home with mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). During the housing crisis of a decade ago, FHA played a critical role in keeping affordable mortgage financing available for millions of qualified borrowers. Today, home sales are at pre-crisis levels and home prices on the rise in most parts of the country as millennials make up the largest segment of first-time homebuyers. Through FHA and a national network of HUD-approved counseling agencies, HUD is working to make responsible homeownership a reality for millions of Americans.”

HUD also provides a quick snapshot of the state of both homeownership and how the department is working to promote it in 2018:

  • HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling (OHC) supports a nationwide network of more than 1,800 housing counseling agencies.
  • Struggling homeowners at risk of default who work with a housing counselor are more likely to get a loan modification and are 30 percent less likely to face foreclosure, compared to similar owners who did not get counseled.
  • The median wealth or net worth of a homeowner is nearly $200,000, or 36 times greater that of the median renter who had just over $5,000.
  • Homeowners move far less frequently than renters, making it easier to build community networks and support systems.
  • Children of families who own their homes are more likely to graduate high school and earn more income later in life.
  • Last year alone, more than 1.2 million people turned to FHA to help them buy a home or to refinance into a lower cost mortgage.
  • Today, an estimated 40 percent of all borrowers turn to FHA to purchase their first home.
  • 44 percent of home purchases by African American families and 43 percent of home purchases by Hispanic families are assisted by FHA.

To see a short video of HUD Secretary Ben Carson reflecting on the legacy of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, click here.

About Author: David Wharton

David Wharton, Editor-in-Chief at the Five Star Institute, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, where he received his B.A. in English and minored in Journalism. Wharton has nearly 20 years' experience in journalism and previously worked at Thomson Reuters, a multinational mass media and information firm, as Associate Content Editor, focusing on producing media content related to tax and accounting principles and government rules and regulations for accounting professionals. Wharton has an extensive and diversified portfolio of freelance material, with published contributions in both online and print media publications. He can be reached at [email protected].
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