Chapel Hill, N. C. – The UNC Center for Community Capital has launched a research project with funding from Enterprise Community Partners to gain a deeper understanding of the obstacles that low-income and minority communities face when trying to access mortgage capital.
The research will focus in particular on communities targeted for assistance by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. That program focuses resources on communities to help them stabilize following devastating foreclosures and abandonment.
Center researchers aim to determine which new barriers to mortgage lending exist in communities hit hard by foreclosures and to identify solutions to expand the availability of sustainable mortgage lending that Enterprise and its community development partners can successfully implement.
They will analyze market trends, conduct interviews with key experts and policymakers familiar with the needs, barriers and products for low- and moderate-income homebuyers, survey housing counselors and conduct in-depth case studies of individuals and communities. The findings may also be used by policymakers, the mortgage industry and homeownership advocates to inform policy and practice.
Enterprise (www.enterprisecommunity.org) is a leading provider of development capital and expertise needed to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For nearly 30 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others. It has raised and invested more than $11 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve more than 280,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities.
Mortgage finance is a key area of study for the UNC Center for Community Capital, the leading center for research and policy analysis on the transformative power of capital on households and communities in the United States. Part of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the center offers data and analysis that helps policymakers, advocates and the private sector find sustainable ways to expand economic opportunity to more people more effectively. For more information, visit www.ccc.unc.edu or call (919) 843-2140.
Topics(s): Affordable Homeownership, Debt & Credit, Financial Inclusion, Mortgage Finance, Savings & Asset-Building