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UNC Center for Community Capital executive director speaks at Fixed Income Forum

Affordable Homeownership, Financial Inclusion, Mortgage Finance, Savings & Asset-Building

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 … Continued

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RTI, UNC Center for Community Capital research on data collection methods featured at Switzerland conference

Other, Research Design

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 … Continued

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Center researchers present findings on tax-time savings program at national consumer finance conference

Financial Capability, Financial Inclusion, Savings & Asset-Building

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 … Continued

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UNC Center for Community Capital researcher presents research on low-income homeowners at Federal Reserve policy summit

Affordable Homeownership, Housing Policy, Impacts of Homeownership, Mortgage Finance

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 … Continued

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UNC Center for Community Capital and RTI International partner on NIH survey research grant

Other, Research Design

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 … Continued

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UNC Center for Community Capital executive director named to CredAbility research board

Affordable Homeownership, Debt & Credit, Financial Inclusion, Mortgage Finance

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, … Continued

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UNC Center for Community Capital researchers urge housing policy decisions to come from facts and evidence

Affordable Homeownership, Housing Policy, Mortgage Finance

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 … Continued

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UNC Center for Community Capital executive director testifies before Congress on restoring confidence in U.S. housing market

Affordable Homeownership, Default, Bankruptcy, & Foreclosure, Housing Policy, Mortgage Finance, Other, Testimony

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 … Continued

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Enterprise Community Partners funds research on obstacles to mortgage capital access

Affordable Homeownership, Debt & Credit, Financial Inclusion, Mortgage Finance, Savings & Asset-Building

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 … Continued

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Center researchers present findings at Federal Reserve Research Conference on how low-income homeowners weathered the foreclosure crisis

Affordable Homeownership, Default, Bankruptcy, & Foreclosure, Mortgage Finance

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 … Continued