"We have pledged our full support to this critical White House initiative, and, at the same time, we're making great strides to help minority families realize the centerpiece of the American Dream—a home of their own," said the association's president, Cathy Whatley.

"Through programs that improve housing affordability and housing access, the National Association of Realtors is opening doors to homeownership for working families, minorities and others who have been left out of the ownership picture," Whatley said. "We are dedicated to this effort and we are making a real difference."

The National Association of Realtors is one of 22 organizations and government agencies that have joined the White House in support of the Bush administration's "Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership" established last year. In designating June as National Homeownership Month, the president set a goal to increase minority homeowners to 5.5 million by 2010.

The association promotes several programs in the affordable housing and minority homeownership arena. The HOPE (Homeownership Opportunities for Everyone) awards program honors individuals and organizations for making outstanding contributions to promote minority homeownership. The program, launched last year, focuses on narrowing the homeownership gap through coalition building, research, training and communications. The association has developed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build an affordable house for a family at each annual convention cities and is a national underwriter of the "Congress Building America" program.

The association is also working to advance legislation such as the "American Dream Down Payment Act," the "Renewing the Dream Tax Credit Act," and improvements to the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance program. The association's "At Home With Diversity" program is designed to help real estate companies diversify their workplaces and certify real estate professionals who are trained in diversity outreach and have made a commitment to diversity principles.

"We have cause to celebrate the highest homeownership rate in our country's history with 68 percent, or nearly 72 million families owning a home of their own today," Whatley said. "But there are still millions of minority families of low or median income, women-headed households, new American families and other communities where homeownership rates are below 50 percent. We have much to do to live up to the goal of the Housing Act of 1949, which called for 'a decent home and suitable living environment for every American family,' " she said.

Information provided in this column is presented by the Realtor members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.silvar.org. Send questions on any topic to jnewton@jnpr.com.