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BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONVENES SUMMIT TO EXPAND MINORITY HOMEOWNERSHIP
White House Conference on Minority Homeownership brings public and private sectors together

WASHINGTON - President Bush today hosted a White House conference in Washington, bringing together hundreds of public and private sector housing-related experts in a comprehensive partnership to close the nation's "homeownership gap." This gap shows minority families continue to own homes at significantly lower rates than the rest of the nation.

In his State of the Union address last January, President Bush pledged to help more families, especially minority families, to become homeowners. In June, President Bush issued the "Homeownership Challenge" to increase minority homeownership by 5.5 million by the end of the decade.

"President Bush understands that when we open the doors of the American Dream to more families, we all win," said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez. "Homeownership inspires civic responsibility, offers children a stable living environment and generates economic benefits for families and communities."

The White House Conference on Minority Homeownership featured solutions to the obstacles minority families face as they pursue the "American Dream" as well as the considerable social and economic benefits of expanding homeownership opportunities to would-be first time homeowners.

During the conference, Martinez released a report entitled Economic Benefits of Increasing Minority Homeownership - this report concludes that adding 5.5 million minority homeowners will stimulate an additional $256 billion in benefits to the housing sector of the U.S. economy.

Numerous private and nonprofit organizations joined the Administration in forming The Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership, a collaborative effort to advance the President's goal. This partnership developed a strategy that identifies four areas that must be addressed in order to meet the President's goal including:

• Educating more people in the home buying process;
• Increasing the supply of affordable homes;
• Providing more downpayment and closing cost assistance; and,
• Offering more home financing options for lower income Americans.

The Blueprint for the American Dream outlines each organization's plan to help meet the Administration's challenge.

HUD, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Treasury, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) represented the Bush Administration. The following private and nonprofit organizations also make up the Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership:

Read Economic Benefits of Increasing Minority Homeownership or Blueprint for the American Dream.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws.

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