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FIRST AMERICAN PROGRAM AIMS TO INCREASE HOMEBUYING
AMONG BAY AREA AFRICAN AMERICANS
-Event Draws Local Real Estate Leaders and
Offers Strategies for Closing Minority Homeownership Gap-
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 17, 2006
Today, more than 300 local real estate professionals and industry leaders attended an event, hosted by First American Title Insurance Company, aimed at helping increase homebuying among African Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. Entitled "Maximizing Wealth Through Homeownership: Opening Doors for African American Homebuyers," the event held in Emeryville, Calif., offered tips and suggestions on how real estate practitioners can help convert many of the region's nearly 500,000 African Americans from renters to homeowners.
According to U.S. Census figures, roughly 64 percent of the Bay Area's non-minorities own homes, while only 40 percent of African Americans are homeowners. Industry experts cited barriers common to all of the emerging market homebuying communities as reasons for the homeownership rate disparity in the black community.
"Lack of traditional credit, lack of affordable housing stock, lack of knowledge of the homebuying process-time and again these are the issues that keep excellent homeownership candidates from realizing the dream of owning a home," said Maria Y. Valentin, director of diversity marketing for First American Title's Bay Area Region. "Our goal at First American is to facilitate the collaborative effort necessary among all parties in the real estate process to help mitigate these barriers. This will benefit not only new African American homeowners, but also the real estate businesses that will establish new revenue streams by reaching out to this growing and vibrant community."
Keynote speaker and founder/chairman of Operation HOPE, Inc., John Bryant added: "Homeownership is the very foundation of America, and if African Americans don't participate in that, then we are not participating in real freedom in America." Bryant, whose organization promotes economic empowerment through financial literacy, noted that true wealth-building for most American families begins with owning a home, but many in the African American community are unclear how to begin the process.
The event brought together a panel of real estate experts, including:
- Ernest Clark, broker-owner of Seville Real Estate and former national president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB);
- Kenneth Session, broker-owner of Session Real Estate and current president of the California Association of Real Estate Brokers (CAREB);
- Bari Robinson, real estate and construction law attorney
- Jeffery Wright, president of the West Contra Costa Association of REALTORS®;
- Regina Davis, executive director of the San Francisco Housing & Development Corp.;
- John Guillory, President and chief executive officer of Northbridge Group, Inc.;
- Jacqueline Carlisle, executive director of NID-HCA (NAREB-Investment Division, Inc., Housing Counseling Agency) and former Real Estate Advisory Commissioner for the State of California; and
- Darrin Tinsley, broker-owner of First Realty
The panel offered insight and answered questions during the event's Leadership Forum segment. The panel discussed a wide array of innovative solutions that are helping increase homeownership opportunity, such as collaborative community real estate networks, alternative credit scoring methods for prospective buyers with minimal credit history, new technology to assist mortgage brokers in finding more loan options for buyers and bundled settlement services that help simplify and reduce the amount of money needed to close a home purchase.
"Working alongside our industry partners, we're providing real estate professionals with the tools and resources necessary to tap into a massive new pool of qualified buyers," said Landon V. Taylor, vice president of Market Development for The First American Corporation. "At that point, all they need is a willingness to see the big picture-to recognize that the face of homeownership is changing and respond to that change."
The seminar is part of First American Title's Bay Area Diversity Marketing Program, which is comprised of consumer-focused outreach and educational events, specialized programs for real estate professionals and the hiring and training of key First American staff to better service ethnically diverse communities. The program has taken root in numerous Northern California communities, including San Francisco and San Jose, establishing First American's strategic markets leadership position in this important region.
The Bay Area Diversity Marketing Program operates in conjunction with The First American Corporation's broader Strategic Markets Program, a corporate-wide commitment launched in 2003 to promote homebuying among African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics. The initiative combines innovative product development with strategic industry alliances, philanthropic giving and investment, and an increased commitment to workforce and vendor diversity at First American.
First American Title Insurance Company, the largest subsidiary of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), traces its history to 1889. One of the largest title insurers in the nation, the company offers title services through nearly 1,700 offices and an extensive network of agents throughout the United States and abroad. The company has its headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif. Information about The First American Corporation's subsidiaries and an archive of its press releases can be found on the Internet at www.firstam.com.
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