Bush Pushes Minority Homeownership

President Bush on Monday promoted his campaign to boost homeownership among minorities, saying he wanted the number of black and Latino homeowners to increase by at least 5.5 million by the end of the decade.

Bush, acknowledging he had set “a big goal,” said it was achievable with the help of the private sector.

“When I lay out a goal, I mean it,” Bush told several hundred people at Atlanta’s St. Paul AME Church, which is located in a once-dilapidated, crime-infested neighborhood where a surge in home building has led to improvements.

Bush wants to close the gap in homeownership rates between whites and minorities, particularly blacks and Latinos. The nation’s overall homeownership rate is at an all-time high of nearly 68%, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said. But whereas nearly three-quarters of all white Americans own their homes, less than half of all African Americans and Latinos do.

“And that’s got to change for the good of the country,” Bush said. “And I believe those of us who have been given positions of responsibility must do everything we can to spotlight the [American] dream and to make sure the dream shines in all neighborhoods, all throughout our country.”

In his current budget, Bush is seeking nearly $2.4 billion in tax credits for developers to help spur the rehabilitation or new construction of up to 200,000 homes for purchase by low-income households.

Bush also wants Congress to approve $200 million a year in grants that would help low-income families buy their first homes. Most grants would be less than $5,000.

Bush stressed that while government does its part, the real estate and mortgage-finance industries must join in the push to increase homeownership among minorities.

Shares of Lennar Corp., Centex Corp. and other U.S. homebuilders rose after his announcement.

The Standard & Poor’s SuperCap Homebuilding index rose 9.08 points, or 2.7%, to 339.91. The index was led by Lennar, whose shares rose $2.10 to $55.50; NVR Inc., which gained $14.50 to $334; and Centex, which rose $1.48 to $53.65.