News

Park City, Utah – UNC Center for Community Capital executive director Janneke Ratcliffe joined a panel of national experts speaking on housing finance reform at a meeting of bond market investors at the Fixed Income Forum’s Senior Delegates Roundtable, held July 20-22 in Park City, Utah. The panel discussion, “Housing Finance Reform: Proposals, Policy and Politics,” featured remarks by Ratcliffe and others discussing housing finance reform, current political realities and … Read more

Lausanne, Switzerland – UNC Center for Community Capital research on data collection methods was highlighted at the European Survey Research Association Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland this week. RTI International researcher Andy Peytchev presented findings and work from a collaborative research project with the center, called “Anticipatory Survey Design: Reduction of Non-response Bias through Bias Prediction Models.” The National Institutes of Health-funded project is examining whether monetary incentives help reduce the … Read more

Boulder, Colo. — UNC Center for Community Capital researchers presented findings Sunday (June 26) on factors that contribute to successful tax-time savings programs at the Boulder Summer Conference on Consumer Financial Decision Making held June 26-28. Center research associate Kim Manturuk outlined key findings from her paper, “Successful Completion of a Matched Savings Program: Impacts of Time Preference and Loss Aversion,” written with center senior research economist Sarah Riley and … Read more

Cleveland, Ohio – Homeownership can be less costly than renting for low-income households and may provide them with a greater sense of well-being, even during times of economic upheaval, a UNC Center for Community Capital researcher told policymakers and others convened for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Policy Summit, “A Conference on Housing, Human Capital and Inequality,” June 9-10. The Cleveland Fed’s 9th annual Policy Summit draws an audience … Read more

Chapel Hill, N. C. –Researchers at the UNC Center for Community Capital and RTI International will examine whether providing monetary incentives helps reduce the level of non-response among survey participants during data collection. The research project, “Anticipatory Survey Design: Reducing Non-response Bias during Data Collection,” is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Understanding the impact of such incentives is important information for researchers as people over the years have … Read more

Washington, D.C. – UNC Center for Community Capital executive director Janneke Ratcliffe has been named to the newly established Research Advisory Council for CredAbility. The Atlanta-based agency provides confidential budget counseling, money management education, debt management programs, bankruptcy counseling and education, and comprehensive housing counseling to more than 630,000 people from across the country. The advisory council comprises a select and diverse group of researchers who guide CredAbility’s research strategy, … Read more

New York City, N.Y. – The nation’s new housing policy and solutions to the foreclosure crisis should draw on facts and evidence, UNC Center for Community Capital researchers said at a May 12 Ford Foundation-sponsored symposium on the future of U.S. homeownership post-Great Depression. Those facts overwhelmingly support the notion that homeownership can be a solid path to a more secure financial future for lower-wealth and lower-income families, center director … Read more

Washington, D.C. –UNC Center for Community Capital executive director Janneke Ratcliffe told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee at a hearing May 11 that risk retention and investor information are part of the solution to restoring confidence in the housing sector, along with ensuring that borrowers have access to sound, well-underwritten loans. “Restoring confidence in the mortgage market will require greater transparency and accountability,” Ratcliffe told members of the Subcommittee … Read more

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 … Read more

Washington, D.C. –Low-income homeowners with high-quality mortgages weathered the foreclosure crisis better than subprime borrowers and felt less stressed than renters, UNC Center for Community Capital researchers told participants at a Federal Reserve Board research conference April 28-29. In addition, those who filed for bankruptcy did so mainly because of adverse life events, such a unemployment, unexpected expenses and medical bills. These were among the findings presented at the Federal … Read more