WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 3, 2010) - The combined 70,500 members and affiliates of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) plan to share The Five-Point Plan: Creating A Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership during their 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference this week in Washington, D.C. Leaders from the three national trade groups are appealing to lawmakers during Capitol Hill visits to take actions that stabilize the market, expand consumer protections, preserve liquidity and stop the spiral of losses in minority communities.

"Communities of color remain at great risk. We must take common sense actions that stop the spiral of losses, keep homeowners in place and prevent our neighborhoods from becoming renter communities," said incoming NAHREP Chairman Alex Chaparro. "Lawmakers are looking to the real estate industry to collaborate on solutions that balance the role of government and private enterprise. We believe this plan does that."

The three trade associations, which represent the most impacted communities, call for support of a five-point plan that:
1. Expands the scope of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) functions to include loan servicing,
2. Mandates pre-purchase face-to-face homebuyer education and household budget management training,
3. Provides principal forgiveness for homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage and have more than 10 percent negative equity
4. Advocates the role of the GSE's and FHA to expand the flow of stable capital to the mortgage market
5. Promotes the role of a consumer protection agency that puts consumer interests first and is empowered to implement robust reforms that align industry practices with values that serve the common good.

"Our five-point plan, when adopted, will set a new course for this Nation's housing recovery, particularly within the minority community. The magnitude of our crisis requires us to act boldly and a decisively to put us back on the right track and restore consumer confidence in the real estate market," said AREAA Chairman John Fukuda. "Communities and people we serve deserve this kind of comprehensive approach."

Current government programs, while well intended, have had limited impact especially in minority neighborhoods where the incidence of expensive mortgages and higher unemployment is greater. (At the peak of the housing expansion, African Americans and Latinos held high cost mortgages at two to nine times the frequency of whites in some foreclosure regions.) According to a report from the Federal Reserve, African American borrowers were 1.8 times as likely as white borrowers to be in foreclosure and Latino and Asian borrowers were 1.4 and 1.3 times, respectively, to be in foreclosure.

"The collaborative effort of African American, Hispanic and Asian American real estate professionals signals a broad call to action. Our respective communities have experienced previously unimaginable losses since the onset of the mortgage loan debacle and the subsequent far-reaching economic crisis," said Vincent Wimbish, President and CEO of NAREB. "We firmly believe that the five-point plan offers a solutions-based approach to making homeownership, not only sustainable, but once again desirable for communities of color as well as for all Americans."

Homeownership among African Americans and Latinos varies by region. For Latinos, the greatest proportion of homeowners is based in the West and Midwest. Among African Americans, homeownership is most concentrated in the Midwest and the South. One-third of the nation's Asian population is based in California. The foreclosure crisis has turned into a regional phenomenon. Minorities reside in many of the states suffering the highest rates of foreclosures and home devaluations including: Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

Leaders from the Hispanic, Asian and African American trade groups plan to discuss the tenets of the plan at a White House briefing during their policy summit this week. The associations have collaborated on joint positions in the past. This is the second time they have recommended a plan together. A copy of The Five-Point Plan: Creating A Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership is available at www.nahrep.org, www.areaa.org or www.nareb.com.

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Contact: Joni Byun (310) 914-5000 ext. 14

DES MOINES, Iowa - Jan. 27, 2010 - Given the challenges many professionals in the real estate industry currently face, it has become somewhat difficult for trade associations to find the resources necessary to continue to grow local chapters and support members and their clients.

With these challenges in mind, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is proud to announce the inception of the Wells Fargo Inspire. Educate. Enable. award for local chapters of the three major minority real estate trade groups.

The award is designed to recognize and reward those AREAA, NAREB and NAHREP chapters who represent what the nation's largest mortgage originator considers the greatest ways to serve their members and surrounding communities. With the backdrop of the historically significant Multicultural Real Estate and Policy Conference, March 3 to 6, Wells Fargo will award two chapters from each of the three sponsoring associations with a check for $2,500, giving these six local chapters the resources to continue to provide the superior programs that advance the knowledge of REALTORS, maintain and increase chapter membership, and work to create sustainable homeownership for all Americans.

Award application process:
To apply for the award, local AREAA chapters should electronically submit a one-page Word document that details how well their chapters do the following:

* Inspire - What does the chapter do for community outreach - how do they connect with and support the communities they serve?
* Educate - What does the chapter do to educate its members and the communities they serve on relevant topics?
* Enable - Does the chapter provide the tools necessary for members' professional development: to gain knowledge, improve skills and make connections? Are these same tools provided to the clients they serve in an effort to provide sustainable homeownership?

All applications must be sent to Kim Truehart at ktruehart@areaa.org.

The winning chapters will be notified in advance of the conference, and invited to attend an award dinner in Washington, D.C.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is the nation's leading mortgage lender and services one of every six mortgage loans in the nation. A division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., it has a national presence in mortgage stores and banking stores, and also serves the home financing needs of customers nationwide through its call centers, Internet presence and third-party production channels.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.

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