How affordable housing supports minority homeownership

Today’s HousingWire Daily features the sixth episode of Honest Conversations, a miniseries on minority homeownership hosted by HousingWire Digital Media Manager Alcynna Lloyd. In this episode, Lloyd interviews Jaya Dey, senior economist in the single-family client and community engagement division at Freddie Mac, about affordable housing and how it impacts minority homeownership.

Here is a small preview of the interview, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

Alcynna Lloyd:  What are some initiatives Freddie Mac has launched to address affordable housing?

Jaya Dey:  I believe a better understanding of the rule of credit is an important step in the home buying process. Credit counseling and education can go a long way to help minority groups, closing the gap and putting them in a better position to qualify for mortgages. It can also help them sustain their mortgages to build wealth and get out of the next economic crisis. So, we have two big initiatives in this direction at Freddie Mac. First is credit smart, a free online homeownership education curriculum that provides key learnings on financial education, credit restoration, budget management, and primary principles that can empower consumers to become more confident and knowledgeable about their future homeowner purchase decisions. The second is our 14-borrower help centers and housing agencies with housing counselors who can assist with credit counseling, restoration, money management, and establishing a budget that is customized or individual based on their particular situation and needs. And of course, we have these low-down payment products, which are, an important barrier to homeownership.

HousingWire Daily examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.