WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 3, 2010) - The combined 70,500 members and affiliates of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) plan to share The Five-Point Plan: Creating A Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership during their 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference this week in Washington, D.C. Leaders from the three national trade groups are appealing to lawmakers during Capitol Hill visits to take actions that stabilize the market, expand consumer protections, preserve liquidity and stop the spiral of losses in minority communities.

"Communities of color remain at great risk. We must take common sense actions that stop the spiral of losses, keep homeowners in place and prevent our neighborhoods from becoming renter communities," said incoming NAHREP Chairman Alex Chaparro. "Lawmakers are looking to the real estate industry to collaborate on solutions that balance the role of government and private enterprise. We believe this plan does that."

The three trade associations, which represent the most impacted communities, call for support of a five-point plan that:

"Our five-point plan, when adopted, will set a new course for this Nation's housing recovery, particularly within the minority community. The magnitude of our crisis requires us to act boldly and a decisively to put us back on the right track and restore consumer confidence in the real estate market," said AREAA Chairman John Fukuda. "Communities and people we serve deserve this kind of comprehensive approach."

Current government programs, while well intended, have had limited impact especially in minority neighborhoods where the incidence of expensive mortgages and higher unemployment is greater. (At the peak of the housing expansion, African Americans and Latinos held high cost mortgages at two to nine times the frequency of whites in some foreclosure regions.) According to a report from the Federal Reserve, African American borrowers were 1.8 times as likely as white borrowers to be in foreclosure and Latino and Asian borrowers were 1.4 and 1.3 times, respectively, to be in foreclosure.
"The collaborative effort of African American, Hispanic and Asian American real estate professionals signals a broad call to action. Our respective communities have experienced previously unimaginable losses since the onset of the mortgage loan debacle and the subsequent far-reaching economic crisis," said Vincent Wimbish, President and CEO of NAREB. "We firmly believe that the five-point plan offers a solutions-based approach to making homeownership, not only sustainable, but once again desirable for communities of color as well as for all Americans."

Homeownership among African Americans and Latinos varies by region. For Latinos, the greatest proportion of homeowners is based in the West and Midwest. Among African Americans, homeownership is most concentrated in the Midwest and the South. One-third of the nation's Asian population is based in California. The foreclosure crisis has turned into a regional phenomenon. Minorities reside in many of the states suffering the highest rates of foreclosures and home devaluations including: Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

Leaders from the Hispanic, Asian and African American trade groups plan to discuss the tenets of the plan at a White House briefing during their policy summit this week. The associations have collaborated on joint positions in the past. This is the second time they have recommended a plan together. A copy of The Five-Point Plan: Creating A Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership is available at www.nahrep.org, www.areaa.org or www.nareb.com.

###

About NAHREP

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a non-profit 501c6 trade association, is dedicated to increasing the homeownership rate among Latinos by educating and empowering the real estate professionals that serve them. Based in Washington D.C., NAHREP is the premier trade organization for Hispanics and has more than 17,000 members in 48 states and 62 affiliate chapters.

About AREAA

Established in 2003, the Asian Real Estate Association of America's membership represents a broad array of real estate, mortgage and housing-related professionals that serve the diverse Asian/Pacific-American market. AREAA is the only national trade association dedicated to representing the interest of the Asian real estate market throughout the country. It pursues initiatives that expand home ownership opportunities for more Asian/Pacific-American families, that increase business opportunities for its members, and that deliver tangible results for its national partners.

About NAREB

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) was formed in 1947 out of a need to secure the right to equal housing opportunities regardless of race, creed, or color. Since its inception, NAREB has instigated, participated in, or actively supported legislative initiatives and legal challenges to ensure fair housing for all Americans and access to business opportunity for minority real estate professionals. Today, NAREB has 88 chapters located nationwide. For more information, visit: www.nareb.com.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) supports today's announcement from the Federal Housing Administration about new policy changes to strengthen the agency's capital reserves and protect it from rising defaults. Among the changes, the agency will increase the amount of up-front cash paid by all new borrowers and require higher down payments from those with the poorest credit.

Under the plan, FHA will increase upfront insurance premiums that borrowers pay at closing from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent of the loan value. Most FHA borrowers will continue to make down payments of as little as 3.5 percent when they take out a loan, but those homebuyers with credit scores of less than 580 will have to come up with a down payment of at least 10 percent.

"These are necessary adjustments that will maintain standards that will keep the market healthy. Borrowers with less-than-stellar credit will still have access to credit but they'll have to bring more to the table," said Tino Diaz, Chairman of NAHREP "We commend Commissioner Stevens and his team for developing solutions that we believe will improve FHA's capital reserves while preserving the agency's ability to fulfill its mission."

FHA remains a critical source of mortgage insurance for Latino borrowers, accounting for nearly 50 percent of their 2008 home purchase loans.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) announced its 2010 initiatives recently that include a new membership program, the launch of a multimedia website and the debut of NAHREP CONNECT, one of the first social networks for Hispanic real estate professionals. The 10-year-old Hispanic trade group also disclosed plans to add new members to its ranks this year with a strategic plan that targets top Hispanic markets where it already has chapters.

NAHREP Chairman Tino Diaz is among 10 new members named by the Federal Reserve Board to its Consumer Advisory Council. The Council advises the board on the exercise of its responsibilities under the Consumer Credit Protection Act and on other matters in the area of consumer financial services. The Council meets three times a year.

The Council, which is made of business leaders, housing advocates and nonprofit leaders, serves a three-year term.

Having recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, the 17,000-member National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) holds its annual marketing conference for all types of real estate pros this month in Las Vegas. NAHREP Chairman and President Tino Diaz discusses the Hispanic community and its importance to mortgage brokers and the country's financial future.

Hispanic Real Estate Trade Group Appeals to Congress To Support FHA's Continued Expanded Role

SAN DIEGO (November 17, 2009) - The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) issued an appeal to members of Congress this week for its support of the Federal Housing Administration's efforts to strengthen the housing market, calling it the only real vehicle for working families to buy homes. NAHREP joined other real estate and housing groups in a joint letter issued to members of the U.S. House and Senate.

Hispanic Agents and Loan Originators Say Stability for Family, Utility and Freedom to Create a Home of Their Own Liking Are Primary Purchase Motivators Though Challenges Remain

SAN DIEGO/LAS VEGAS (October 26, 2009) - Fifty-four percent of Latinos that participated in a phone survey conducted on behalf of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), expressed a strong interest in homeownership and plan to buy a home in the next five years. The poll was conducted among Latino renters living in the foreclosure-ravaged markets of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix and coincides with a national survey of Hispanic real estate professionals announced this week during its annual member convention in Las Vegas. The survey findings reinforce what many of the 16,000-member Hispanic trade group's members report as strong consumer interest that could further fortify the first-time homebuyer market.

SAN DIEGO (October 12, 2009) - Hispanic and Asian Real Estate professionals and industry business
leaders will convene at the 2009 AREAA/NAHREP Real Estate and Marketing Conference on October 25-27 in Las Vegas at the Palazzo Resort & Casino to discuss the state of the current multicultural homebuyer market. Hosted by the Asian Real Estate Association of America and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the meeting is the single largest industry gathering of multicultural real estate professionals and is expected to draw 1,500 practitioners that actively work with the underserved market.

The dream of homeownership has been severely threatened by an historic record of foreclosures, delivering the most significant losses to minority communities. Are Latinos still interested in homeownership and, if so, what are their primary motives for wanting to buy? Do any particular barriers or consequences of the recent crisis challenge them? The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals polled its members for insights about how their clients feel.

Town-hall forum includes foreclosure experts from PMH Financial, National Default Servicing, Fannie Mae and New Vista Asset Management as part of 2009 AREAA/NAHREP Real Estate and Marketing Conference

LAS VEGAS (August 27, 2009) - What are the secrets for selling distressed properties? What do asset
managers look for in listing real estate brokers? What are the foreclosure sales opportunities in the future?
The nation's leading REO asset managers will answer these questions and more in a rare exchange with real
estate agents at the 2009 AREAA/NAHREP Real Estate and Marketing Conference on October 25-27 at the
Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas. This is the single largest industry gathering of Hispanic and Asian real estate
professionals that work with multicultural homebuyers.

SAN DIEGO (JULY 9th, 2009) - The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals
supports the proposed legislation to expand tax credits to all homebuyers and increase the
incentives from $8,000 to $15,000 as recommended by the Business Roundtable Housing
Working Group and now included in the Homebuyer Credit Act of 2009 (S. 1230).