Recognizing National Homeownership Month

RECOGNIZING NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP MONTH -- (House of Representatives - June 24, 2008)

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Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

The month of June is National Homeownership Month, and at a time of growing concern about the foreclosure crisis affecting the lives of too many Americans, Congress has responded with a bipartisan effort to revitalize the housing market.

This year, the President, in one of the proclamations that actually I think spoke for most Members of this body, as well as for most Americans, said, ``For many Americans, owning a home represents freedom, independence and the American dream.''

During National Homeownership Month, we highlight the benefits of owning a home and encourage our fellow citizens to be responsible homeowners. It is difficult to be a responsible homeowner at this time because foreclosure filings last month went up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, this is unbelievable. 261,255 homeowners received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May. That is up 48 percent from the same month last year, and up 7 percent from April. Last week, the Mortgage

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Bankers Association reported that about 2.5 percent of home mortgages were in foreclosure during the first quarter of this year, almost double the rate of a year earlier.

I was reading an article in the June 19 Washington Post which suggests that 6.5 million loans will fall into foreclosure within the next 5 years; 6.5 million loans. That means that 8 percent of all homeowners in the United States will be impacted directly. That does not count the people who live on the block where a home is foreclosed, and in the urban core, anywhere around the country, that spells disaster, because you will have a rundown property in an area that is already undervalued by those who make declarations about the value of property.

Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide just in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices. That is according to the New York Times, June 14 of this year.

As a person who did not live in a real home until he was 14, I can speak I think very clearly about the value of homeownership. I lived in a house in Waxahachie, Texas, from the time I was born until I was eight that had no running water, no electricity, no indoor plumbing. My mother, father, three sisters and I lived in this shanty, which at one time served as slave quarters.

We were able to move out of that when I was eight. We moved into public housing. We lived in public housing until my father, working about three jobs, sometimes four at the same time, could buy his own home. He bought a home in a white neighborhood, and so he had to have it moved to the black neighborhood.

That home meant everything to the six Cleavers who lived in it. It meant so much that my father had converted this home into a palace that we considered having been blessed to live in. His lawn can be compared with the lawn of anybody in the country, and some of the neighbors even make fun of him because if you drop a cigarette butt or a piece of paper on the street anywhere near his home, it gets picked up.

Homeownership is valuable, and it does grant us a piece of the American dream. But for many Americans, the American dream has become a nightmare. The subprime lending crisis has devastated communities, but let us not forget it has devastated individuals. 705,446 homes will suffer price declines due to foreclosures nearby.

Mr. Speaker, tonight we lift up the value of homeownership, but we do so with a commitment to do everything that we can possibly do to impact the climate so that we can turn things around from the destructive way in which this Nation is suffering.

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The month of June is National Homeownership Month. At a time of growing concern about the foreclosure crisis affecting the lives of too many Americans, Congress has responded with a bipartisan effort to revitalize the housing market. This year the President proclaimed, ``For many Americans, owning a home represents freedom, independence, and the American dream. During National Homeownership Month, we highlight the benefits of owning a home and encourage our fellow citizens to be responsible homeowners.''

``Foreclosure filings last month were up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier, according to one company's count released yesterday.'' [Washington Post, June 19, 2008].

``Nationwide, 261,255 homeowners received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48 percent from the same month last year, and up 7 percent from April, foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac said.'' [Washington Post, June 19, 2008].

``Last week the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that about 2.47 percent of home mortgages were in foreclosure during the first quarter of the year, almost double the 1.28 percent rate of a year earlier, and the highest point since the group began compiling such figures in 1979.'' [Washington Post, June 19, 2008].

``A Credit Suisse report this spring predicted that 6.5 million loans will fall into foreclosure over the next five years, reaching more than 8 percent of all U.S. homes.'' [Washington Post, June 19, 2008].

``According to the RealtyTrac report, one in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second straight monthly record.'' [Washington Post, June 19, 2008].

``Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.'' [New York Times, June 14, 2008].

At the end of the first quarter of 2008, there were an estimated 1.27 million properties in foreclosure in the United States. In addition, there were approximately 350,000 subprime mortgages more than 90 days delinquent where foreclosure proceedings had not yet begun.

The Center for Responsible Lending offers the following statistics for Missouri: 42,727 foreclosures predicted for 2008-2009; 705,446 homes will suffer price declines due to foreclosures nearby; a $1.8 billion in home values/tax base; and $2,540 average decrease in home value per unit affected.

``The Federal Housing Administration expects to lose $4.6 billion because of unexpectedly high default rates on home loans.'' [New York Times, June 10, 2008].

``One study estimates that in just 10 states (AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, MA, MI, MN, NV, NY), lost tax revenue in 2008 will total $6.6 billion due to foreclosures.'' [Global Insight, The Mortgage Crisis: Economic and Fiscal Implications for Metro Areas, November, 2007].

``Further, an estimated 524,000 fewer jobs are projected to be created this year because of the foreclosure crisis.'' [Global Insight, The Mortgage Crisis: Economic and Fiscal Implications for Metro Areas, November, 2007].

Initiatives to help responsible homeowners keep their homes have been launched. The Federal Housing Administration has created the FHASecure program so that flexibility in refinancing mortgages for homeowners who have good credit histories but cannot afford their current payments is just one solution. Furthermore, the HOPE NOW Alliance connects struggling homeowners with lenders, loan servicers, and mortgage counselors to help families stay in their homes.

67.8 percent of Americans own their own homes [Census Bureau].

72.0 percent of Midwesterners own their own homes (the highest percentage in the nation) [Census Bureau].

With an increase in age, comes an increase in homeownership. Americans view homeownership as a mark of success, and as proof that they have at least begun to realize the American dream. The purchase of a first home is a symbol of stability, and often acts as a monument to family life, which is the cornerstone of our culture.

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