While the real estate and mortgage markets are no longer in free fall, the state of our nation's housing situation remains weak and unstable. Policymakers and institutions are grappling with a myriad of components that will stabilize real estate markets and support a broad economic recovery. Faced with an overhang of foreclosure inventory, a population with deteriorating credit ratings, and a fragmented mortgage finance system, the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has suffered a greater loss in homeownership rates, home equity, and credit access than the overall population.

AREAA presents this Five-Point Plan in order to bring awareness and solutions to the unique homeownership challenges that the AAPI community faces. Our Five-Point Plan focuses on the following:

1. Guide Homeowners to the Path of Credit Recovery
2. Clear the Way to Real Estate Recovery
3. Restore Confidence in the Mortgage Market
4. Reinvest in America's Homes and Neighborhoods
5. Prepare for a Diverse Future

In a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray, AREAA and various real estate, lending and consumer protection agencies urged that a broadly-defined Qualified Mortgage (QM) be central to the forthcoming Ability to Repay regulation.

The letter warns that an unnecessarily narrow definition of QM would undermine prospects for a housing recovery and threaten redevelopment of a sound mortgage market.

The QM definition will have a significant impact on credit accessibility for Asian Americans who often have the ability to repay, however, may not qualify for mortgage products due to high rates of business ownership and/or a lack of traditional credit.

Peter Ingersoll, the author of Real Estate Tsunami Survivor's Guide presents on the following topics:
- The current state of distressed commercial real estate.
- How lenders and borrowers are resolving the distressed market
- How to profit from this market segment.
- When will the bulk of these problems be resolved?

Peter is CEO of Safe Harbour Equity, Inc. and pWave Investment Management, Inc. He is the only dual licensed real estate broker and registered investment advisor in California. Peter is the Vice Chair of the California Self Storage Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Northern California chapter of CCIM.

Washington, D.C. - The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies APAICS and the Asian Real Estate Association of America AREAA will begin accepting applications today for a housing fellowship program, which they have jointly created to provide fellows with the unique professional and educational experience of serving as full-time staff in the U.S. Congress. The fellowship was established to develop a pipeline of leaders who are dedicated to addressing the diverse housing and community development needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

Applicants must have a strong commitment to public service, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and must have demonstrated experience in the field of housing and community development. The AREAA Fellow will be placed in a congressional office and will work on housing and community development issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, along with other important issues facing the U.S. Congress. The fellow will also participate in special events hosted by APAICS and AREAA. The fellowship will be administered by APAICS and is sponsored by AREAA. The application and details are available online at http://bit.ly/AREAAFellowship; the deadline is March 1, 2012.

SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 30, 2011)--The 2011 National Convention of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) opened at the Palace Hotel last night, bringing together more than 1,000 real estate professionals, lenders and industry leaders, who serve Asian American consumers in the residential and commercial real estate markets.

With the organization announcing the launch of its first International Chapter in Canada, one of the key topics at the 2011 National Convention was the increasing globalization of the real estate industry.

Access the PowerPoint presentation and archived webinar from July 20, 2011 including:

- A brief overview of the current state of the global investment markets for commercial real estate

- An analysis of the rapidly increasing flow of real estate capital, both debt and equity, from Asia into North America and Europe including both the sources and targets of that capital

- A summary of the US investment markets for commercial real estate for each of the major property types, including an analysis of the buyers and lenders driving investment, the differences in trends in the gateway markets versus others, and the current status of the $300 billion of distressed properties and mortgages

- Specific analysis of Asian capital into US commercial properties and why US real estate is currently so attractive to foreign buyers

The number of U.S. businesses owned by people of Asian origin increased 40.4 percent to 1.5 million between 2002 and 2007, increasing at more than twice the national rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today. These businesses also generated $507.6 billion in receipts, a 55.4 percent increase from 2002.