June is National Homeownership Month
For generations homeownership has been essential to achieving the American dream. Call us today to help you find your home and build your household wealth.
WASHINGTON – June 1, 2018 – June begins National Homeownership Month, a time of year when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and others mark the importance of owning a home and the impact it has on the lives of American families, local neighborhoods and to the nation’s economic health.
This year’s theme is National Homeownership Month 2018: Find Your Place.
“Homeownership serves as an enduring symbol of security and prosperity, and it provides many Americans with a legacy they can pass down to their children and grandchildren,” says HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “During National Homeownership Month, we recognize the abiding value of owning a home, and we rededicate ourselves toward helping hard-working families to find their place in the American dream.”
For generations of families, homeownership has been essential to achieving the American dream. Beyond the emotional benefits, homeownership builds household wealth.
The U.S. government has historically promoted homeownership. Since 1934, more than 47 million households purchased a home with mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). During the housing crisis of a decade ago, FHA played a critical role in keeping affordable mortgage financing available for millions of qualified borrowers.
Today, home sales have returned to pre-crisis levels and home prices are on the rise in most parts of the country.
HUD and FHA homeownership notes
- The median net worth of a homeowner is nearly $200,000 – 36 times greater that of the median renter who had just over $5,000.
- Homeowners move far less frequently than renters, making it easier to build community networks and support systems.
- Children of families who own their homes are more likely to graduate high school and earn more income later in life.
- In 2017, more than 1.2 million people turned to FHA to help them buy a home or to refinance into a lower cost mortgage.
- Today, an estimated 40 percent of all borrowers turn to FHA to purchase their first home.
- 44 percent of home purchases by African American families and 43 percent of home purchases by Hispanic families are assisted by FHA.
- HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling (OHC) supports a nationwide network of more than 1,800 housing counseling agencies. Their mission is to provide individuals and families with the knowledge they need to obtain, sustain, and improve their housing. Read more about the benefits of housing counseling.
- To help with responsible homeownership, housing counselors provide homeowner education, pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention counseling, assistance with creating a budget and setting financial goals, fair housing information, and a host of other services.
- Struggling homeowners at risk of default who work with a housing counselor are more likely to get a loan modification, and are 30 percent less likely to face foreclosure, compared to similar owners who did not get counseled.
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