Five Cities Receive 'Ambassador' Designation by Realtors®, Mayors for Expanding Affordable Housing Opportunities

WASHINGTON, March 06, 2009

Five cities have been designated as 2009 Ambassador Cities by the National Association of Realtors^® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The cities are Houston; Lexington, Ky.; Jupiter, Fla.; Helena, Mont.; and Tri-Valley, Calif.

NAR and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, through its Council on the New American City, launched the Ambassadors for Cities program in 2003 to encourage cities and local Realtor^® associations to form partnerships to promote and expand affordable housing opportunities in their communities.

“Realtors^® build communities and are committed to promoting safe, decent and affordable housing opportunities,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “The five cities receiving the Ambassador for Cities designation this year should be commended for forming strategic partnerships with their mayors and local governments as well as public, private and nonprofit organizations to help create and maintain affordable housing in their communities.”

The goal of the Ambassador for Cities program is to highlight successful private and public partnerships that will serve as models to other communities. The five Ambassador City designees will each hold public events during the year, which will highlight the success of their partnership and provide an opportunity to further discuss and encourage affordable housing.

Through the program, Realtor^® associations receive a plaque and $5,000 to help promote their event or initiative. Since its inception, the program has honored 34 cities and awarded $170,000 in grants to support local affordable housing initiatives.

The 2009 Ambassador for Cities designees and their programs are:

Helena, Mont., and the Helena Association of Realtors^®
Helena Area Housing Task Force. HAR is partnering with the city and mayor to recreate a housing task force and develop a comprehensive housing affordability strategy, including a local housing needs assessment, which will help identify housing needs in the community, establish housing priorities and recommend affordable housing projects to the city and partners. The task force will address the changes in housing needs that have occurred in Helena since the last plan was developed in 1999 and update the strategy annually.

Houston and the Houston Association of Realtors^®
Houston HOPE Homes. HAR has partnered with the city of Houston to increase Realtor® and consumer awareness of the city’s downpayment assistance programs, which offer $30,000 to $40,000 to qualified individuals who purchase homes below a set price in one of nine Houston neighborhoods currently undergoing revitalization. HAR created a map-based search engine, available on both the Houston HOPE Web site and www.HAR.com, to help consumers search listings easily in the Houston HOPE neighborhoods.

Lexington, Ky., and the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors^®
Repair Affair/Remodeling for Access and Mobility Project. LBAR’s nonprofit organization, the Realtor^®Community Housing Foundation, has partnered with the local county government on two projects to help low-income elderly and disabled/mobility impaired residents maintain their homes. Repair Affair is an annual event that assists elderly homeowners with necessary exterior repairs; RAMP provides low-income families with wheelchair ramps or other exterior modifications for easier mobility at their homes.

Jupiter, Fla., and the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association of Realtors^®
SOLD on Jupiter. JTHS has partnered with local government to host several affordable housing and homeownership events. The events include a parade of affordable homes for sale in the community and a fair where residents can learn about affordable housing options and meet with lenders, Realtors^®, and nonprofit home buyer assistance agencies to learn more about mortgages and homeownership.

Tri-Valley, Calif. (Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and Danville) and the BayEast Association of Realtors^®
Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center. BayEast has partnered with a coalition of five cities to develop the Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center, a nonprofit public charity that provides pre- and post-purchase home buyer education, income and asset development education, information regarding private sector lender programs, and funding sources – helping match those in need with programs and services that benefit them most. Realtors^® serve as trainers for TVHOC orientations and workshops and help develop unique sales solutions for low- and moderate-income buyers.

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