For Immediate Release

NAHREP to Host Hispanic Marketing Conference in San Diego;
Henry Cisneros, Richard Mendenhall, Jamie Gorelick and Jim Park to be honored.

San Diego, Calif.—October 22, 2001—The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) will host the nation’s first real estate conference dedicated exclusively to Hispanic marketing from November 18 through November 20 in San Diego, California.

Henry G. Cisneros, Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Chief Executive Officer of American CityVista, Richard A. Mendenhall, the 2001 president for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), Jamie S. Gorelick, Vice Chair of Fannie Mae and Jim J. Park, Managing Director of Housing & Industry Outreach, Freddie Mac will each be honored for their contribution to Hispanic homeownership

Henry G. Cisneros serves as the founder and chairman of American CityVista, a joint venture to build homes in the central areas of many of the nation’s major metropolitan areas. It is a commitment by Henry Cisneros and KB HOME to build large-scale distinctive communities in areas where new residential development has not occurred in recent years. 
“The demand for homes in central neighborhoods, or ‘infill housing’, is at an all-time high,” says Cisneros. “Nationally, there is great momentum for new development in central cities, and city leaders recognize that large-scale homeownership provides community stability.  Many Americans want to live closer to work and enjoy a more metropolitan lifestyle.  There is also a definite increase in demand for homeownership among minorities and immigrants.  These factors have created a tremendous opportunity for American CityVista to build a successful business, because it is based on an ever-growing need.”

American CityVista works along with Kaufman and Broad to identify sites, plan neighborhoods, acquire and develop land, build homes, and market them as competitively-priced “villages within cities” that are wired for technology and designed to honor local tastes and traditions.

Committed to building neighborhoods that mirror the face of America, American CityVista provides new residential options for buyers of all backgrounds and incomes, from immigrants and first time homeowners to empty nesters and hip urban dwellers. 

Richard A. Mendenhall, the 2001 president for the National Association of Realtors® has developed a new awards program for individuals or companies that make a significant contribution to the cause of increasing minority homeownership. This new industry awards program sponsored by a partnership of real estate associations will raise public awareness about the need to place a higher priority on creating equality in homeownership.  The HOPE Awards (“Home Ownership Participation for Everyone”) will become a catalyst for focusing public attention on this important issue.  It will raise public awareness and signal to policy-makers that it’s time to place a higher priority on creating parity on homeownership.  Among real estate professionals and REALTORSÒ, NAR’s leadership on this issue will encourage them to renew their efforts to make the minority marketplace a larger part of their business.  For those deserving few who win the honor, the awards will be a small way to say “thank you.”

As Mendenhall stated, “The problem with homeownership in America today is that homeownership doesn’t look like America today. I served in Vietnam as a Green Beret.  A Hispanic man trained me, an Asian man was my point man and I fought side by side with a black man - our very lives depended upon each other.  I learned that regardless of our skin color; all of our blood bleeds red.  I pledged to myself then that I would never forget!  To me it honors us all that the HOPE Awards are a true partnership of so many ethnic real estate associations.”

Jamie S. Gorelick is Vice Chair of Fannie Mae. Jamie is responsible for affordable housing and community development products and initiatives, including Fannie Mae’s $2 trillion American Dream Commitment. 

Fannie Mae is committed to expanding the affordable homeownership rates.  In March 1994, Fannie Mae set a goal to invest $1 Trillion to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing to 10 million families through the year 2000. This goal was surpassed under Jamie’s leadership.  As a result, in March of 2000 Fannie Mae challenged the public and private sectors to join them in setting a national goal of creating 5 million new minority homeowners. Through the American Dream Commitment’s minority homeownership initiative, Fannie Mae has committed to contribute at least $420 billion in mortgage investments to serve more than 3 million minority households over the decade. Last year, 8.1 percent of the loans financed by Fannie Mae were made to Hispanic borrowers; this percentage is an all time record for Fannie Mae. 

Jim J. Park, is the Managing Director of Housing & Industry Outreach, Freddie Mac. In this position, Park is responsible for the corporation’s national program outreach and consumer education initiatives with community and consumer groups and supports key business and policy issues impacting Freddie Mac. His position has led him to be an instrumental key aspect in the creation of the Hispanic Community Technology Initiative, a major outreach effort and a partnership between the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Freddie Mac, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), RealEstateEspanol.com, and EMT Applications, Inc.

The CounselorMAX is a powerful new Web-based tool that is an integral part of the Hispanic Community Technology Initiative. This tool is set to increase access to homeownership among Latino families by using the latest mortgage technology to increase homeownership among Hispanic families. Freddie Mac is providing $2 million over three years to help NCLR reach low- and moderate-income Latino homebuyers, helping them overcome barriers to homeownership, and improve their access to mortgage credit.

“It is gratifying to know that these individuals who have contributed greatly to increasing home ownership rates for underserved communities will be nationally recognized for their contributions.” said NAHREP president Ruben Garcia.

 Fannie Mae, Citigroup and Freddie Mac have supported the event as Diamond Sponsors. Additional information regarding registration and sponsorship is available at www.nahrep.org or by phoning 800-964-5373.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) is a nonprofit trade association committed to increasing the Hispanic homeownership rate by empowering real estate professionals that serve Hispanic consumers. Founded in 1999, NAHREP has more than 45 regional and local affiliates and members in 43 states. Information about NAHREP is available at www.nahrep.org and on www.realestateespanol.com.