Women’s Homeownership Initiative (WHI)

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Homeownership is a central part of the American dream, for most people, it is the American Dream. Owning a home connotes success and achievement.

As women progress in the workforce and receive the consideration and participation they have earned, it is essential to fortify their growth with strong economic foundations. Why is it important for women to become homeowners? Homeownership provides the financial security to safeguard women’s progress, and paves the way for future generations.

Women continue to face obstacles in their career paths, with a pervasive 27 percent gender wage gap and lack of advancement in hierarchy. This disparity significantly impacts women’s ability to incur savings and secure a home to call their own, as their paychecks don’t travel nearly as far as men’s.
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Growing Your Business to Include an Affluent Global Clientele

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Is part of your 2016 business plan to attract a more global, affluent clientele? The world is getting smaller and smaller, particularly for those with means who are even more world-wise than previous generations. Therefore, growing your business to target, attract and retain this appealing demographic makes sense. However, it’s not for everyone. Attracting affluent patrons outside of your market can be expensive and difficult, yet extremely lucrative. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), foreigners pay on average nearly $500,000 for a house, compared to the national average of $256,000. As you think about expanding your business, knowing how to navigate this world and heeding a few key pieces of advice can make all the difference between notable success and spectacular failure.
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NAWRB Responds to Proposed Rule on Overtime Eligibility

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The Honorable Thomas E. Perez
Secretary, Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210

The Honorable Dr. David Weil
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division
Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210

Re: National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) Comments:
“Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees; Proposed Rule and Request for Comment”

Dear Secretary Perez and Administrator Weil,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) focusing on increasing the overtime eligibility for millions of Americans who are currently classified as exempt workers.

The National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) is the most visible women’s trade association specializing in the housing economy. NAWRB is dedicated to providing women the tools and opportunities for economic growth and expansion, while advocating and promoting women-owned businesses in housing. We are the only third-party industry-specific certifier of Women-Owned Businesses (WOB) and Minority Women-Owned Businesses (MWOB) in the housing economy.

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The Buying Power of Asian Americans

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The housing market has been turbulent for the past decade, but 2016 has started with a positive trend. According to the Nationwide Economics’ Health of Housing Markets (HoHM) Report, the Leading Index of Healthy Housing Markets (LIHHM) for the third quarter of 2015 was higher than 100, their neutral number, and this typically designates a healthy market. The report also confirms that the Metropolitan Statistical Areas’ (MSA) LIHHM performance has been improving since 2012. Continue reading

HISPANIC WOMEN ARE THE KEY TO HISPANIC BUYING POWER

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As Hispanics continue to thrive—in education, career, resources, representation—their access to capital and buying power will increase accordingly and their purchases will have a significant impact on the economy, not the least of which will be the purchase of a home. It is crucial to learn the best ways to serve Hispanic homebuyers, not only to help them make the best purchases, but to ensure their growth is encouraged and safeguarded rather than delayed or prevented altogether.

According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2015 there were 57 million Hispanics in the United States, accounting for 18 percent of the entire U.S. population; this is a grand increase from 1980 when this group comprised 6.5 percent of the population. In their 2014 population predictions, the Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population will more than double by 2060 to 119 million.
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Whither Housing

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U.S. housing market data has been sending mixed messages over the past year. On the negative side, existing home sales had been growing steadily since the start of 2015, but slumped sharply in August. Data from the Flow of Funds (FOF) shows outstanding mortgage debt has yet to rise in any meaningful way and, worse, median prices as reported by the National Association of Realtors appear to have fallen slightly in the last four months.

Single-family building permits have been rising slowly but remain far below normal levels, even as home ownership rates—as measured by the U.S. Census—unexpectedly fell at the start of the year. Concerns surrounding Federal Reserve policy and its impact on interest rates is also worrying investors.

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NAWRB Responds to Final Interagency

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Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 mandated that federal agencies institute an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). The act distinguishes each OMWI as, “responsible for all matters of the agency relating to diversity in management, employment, and business activities.” 

Furthermore, to determine the efficacy of each office, Dodd-Frank tasked OMWI directors with establishing diversity standards for agencies to assess the diversity policies and practices within the institutions they govern. 

Of these agencies, six—the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—worked together to develop joint standards. 

The six agencies also collaborated with the public, following the publication of a request for comments on the “Proposed Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies” in the Federal Register in October 2013. 

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Recap of 2015 NAWRB Conference

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The National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) held its 2nd Annual Conference, “Historic Diversity and Inclusion Movement,” August 17th-19th in Long Beach, CA. As a testament to our dedication to bring women to the forefront, 84 percent of our speakers were women in executive positions, who shared their best practices, personal stories and business opportunities with the attendees. 

Conference workshops were highly engaging, starting with certification training speakers Sylvia Gutierrez of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Karla Gonzalez of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Attendees were encouraged to bring their certification packages and follow step-by-step instructions on the process of applying for a women-owned business certification. Prepaying applicants had the opportunity of submitting their completed certification packages to an onsite NAWRB certification reviewer. As part of the workshop, we also addressed the benefits of certifying as a women-owned business and the ways certification can maximize business growth.

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OMWI Update from Congresswoman Maxine Waters

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As part of NAWRB’s commitment to bring women’s diversity and inclusion to the forefront, Congresswoman Maxine Waters provides an OMWI update:

NAWRB: Throughout your career protecting the consumer has been a very important priority for you. Can you provide an update on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act since our last conference October 2014? What is the most important benefit this act is affording the typical American consumer?

Congresswoman Waters: Consumer protection has been, and continues to be, a top priority for me here in Congress.  During my time as Member and now Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, I’ve come to understand how critical consumer issues are for the average American. In the run-up to the 2008 financial crash, our financial system was riddled with loopholes and opaque shadow markets, which allowed the worst actors to reap financial gains on the backs of America’s middle class. In the end, we saw the financial crisis decimate our economy, destroy nine million jobs, and displace 11 million American families. In response, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (The Dodd-Frank Act), to end this sort of behavior in the financial services sector, and provide rules-of-the-road to prevent another crisis from happening again.

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Strengthening the Women’s Culture

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What a profound statement! It is with the same fervor as Madeleine Albright that NAWRB supports other women. Like the first female U.S. Secretary of State, we believe that other women, organizations, companies in the public and private sectors and the government must follow suit. As the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) movement continues working for equal access to resources, equal representation, equal pay—the list goes on—it is crucial to create unwavering unity among women to advance women’s culture. If this culture is not strengthened, with the many problems burdening women, women will remain too scattered to be truly heard in unison and inspire more commitment from the rest of the country. As we continue working to get this right, there must be adjustments within women’s culture and leadership mindsets to achieve greater growth.

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