WASHINGTON, DC – May 28, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — California’s Tri-Valley region has been named a 2009 Ambassador City by the National Association of Realtors® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors for its Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center, a nonprofit housing counseling organization that promotes affordable rental and homeownership opportunities.
The TVHOC was created in 2005 by the five cities of the Tri-Valley region in northern California – the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and San Ramon and the town of Danville. The TVHOC acts as a clearing house, helping match individuals in need with housing programs and services that benefit them most.
“Realtors® build communities and are committed to helping potential home buyers overcome barriers to homeownership,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “The Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center should be proud of the great work it’s doing to improve the flow of housing information and resources to hardworking families in Northern California so that more people can achieve homeownership and have a place of their own to call home.”
The Tri-Valley region sits at the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area, 18 miles southeast of Oakland and 33 miles from San Francisco. The region is known for its high housing costs, which forces many area workers to commute an hour or more from their homes in nearby communities where housing is more affordable.
TVHOC helps combat the area’s high housing costs through pre- and post-purchase home buyer education, income and asset development education, rental referral services, information regarding public and private sector lender programs and funding sources, and free income tax services.
Through the TVHOC’s efforts, hundreds of prospective home buyers in the area have received education and counseling and more than 100 people have achieved homeownership.
The Bay East Association of Realtors® is also being recognized as a key partner and supporter of the TVHOC. Bay East helps fund and staff the TVHOC, and Realtors® serve as trainers for TVHOC orientations and workshops and help TVHOC develop unique sales solutions for many of its low- and moderate-income buyers.
At an event yesterday, Realtor® Wendy Furth, NAR’s Housing Opportunity Committee liaison, joined Dustin Joyce, Council for the New American City, in presenting the Ambassadors for Cities plaque and a $5,000 check to 2009 Bay East Association of Realtors® President Pat Huffman and Pleasanton Mayor Jennifer Hosterman.
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 affordable housing and homeownership.
Contact:
Sara Weis 202/383-1013
sweis (at) realtors (dot) org