The Houston Chronicle reports that a combination of factors are making homeownership opportunities more accessible to low and moderate income households and minorities.
More and more working-class families "are discovering they can buy a piece of the American dream as three factors converge to make homeownership more affordable and accessible than ever: historically low interest rates, billions of dollars set aside by banks for mortgages targeted to minorities and immigrants, and more churches and church-related community development corporations getting involved in providing shelter for body, as well as soul....When mortgage rates drop, even if lenders were to get the same profit margin as before, they can enlarge the opportunity for the traditionally underserved market....Lenders are giving mortgages to clients who are usually surprised they're qualified....The big change: more relaxed underwriting standards using nontraditional methods of tracking credit and assessing risk....Nationwide, statistics are beginning to show inroads to homeownership by minorities."
Thanks to Connie Chung
Read the full story: Homeownership more attainable to more families
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight
While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello