Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | The Carter Center | Atlanta, GA

About the Event - In the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis, metro Atlanta leads the country with 35% of homeowners underwater on their mortgage loans (Haas Institute, 2014).  Housing recovery in the region has been wildly uneven.  The slow rising tide of home prices in affluent neighborhoods has bypassed large portions of metro Atlanta, particularly communities south of I-20 and along portions of the I-85 corridor.

Of the top 10 hardest-hit zip codes in the country for negative equity, nine are located in metro Atlanta. The hardest hit zip code in the country is in Clayton County where  a staggering 76% of homeowners are underwater.  In this Clayton community, 89% of homeowners are African American. The impact of negative equity is even more significant given the fact that home equity accounts for 92% of personal net worth for the typical African-American household. 

On March 17, 2015 representatives of 200 organizations attended the "Underwater Atlanta" event to learn more about the issue of negative equity and to engage in a dialogue about solutions to the problem.

FROM THE EVENT
- Event Program
- PBP Information & Resource Guide
- Audio from the Event (See Below)

WHERE TO FIND HELP:
- Find a HUD-approved Counselor: HERE or HERE
- Call 888-995-HOPE
- HomeSafe Georgia
- PBP Information & Resource Guide

RECOMMENDED READING:
Haas Institute's "Underwater America"
Full Report | Atlanta Overview | Georgia Overview

How negative equity impacts community stability
Woodstock Institute

Race and Uneven Recovery: Neighborhood Home Value Trajectories in Atlanta before and after the Housing Crisisby Dan Immergluck, Elora Raymond and Kyungsoon Wang.

Zillow Negative Equity Interactive Map

34,000 metro Atlanta mortgages qualify for HARP

PANELS/PRESENTATIONS (PowerPoint and audio links below)

Acknowledgements & Welcome | Audio
-Susan Adams, PBP Coordinator
-Ed Jennings, Jr. HUD Regional Administrator for the Southeast

Negative Equity Issue Overview & Context | Audio | PPT
-Spencer M. Cowan, Vice President, Woodstock Institute

Local Elected Officials – Moderated Panel Discussion, Q&A | Audio
-The Honorable John H. Eaves, PH.D., Chairman, Fulton County Board of Commissioners
-The Honorable Deborah A. Jackson, Mayor, City of Lithonia, Georgia
-The Honorable Bucky Johnson, Mayor, City of Norcross, Georgia
-The Honorable Ceasar C. Mitchell, President, City Council of Atlanta, Georgia
-The Honorable Jeffrey E. Turner, Chairman, Clayton County Board of Commissioners
-Douglas R. Hooker, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission, Moderator

Keynote Speaker | Audio
Introduction by
-Donald Phoenix, Regional Vice President, NeighborWorks America
Keynote Address, Q&A
-Paul Weech, President & CEO, NeighborWorks America

Helping Underwater Homeowners – Moderated Panel Discussion, Q&A | Audio
-Megan Moore, Special Advisor, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
-Mark McArdle, Chief of Homeownership Preservation Office, U.S. Treasury
-Carmen Chubb, Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Community Affairs
-Odetta MacLeish White, Program Director, Enterprise Community Partners

Helping Underwater Neighborhoods – Moderated Panel Discussion, Q&A | Audio | PPT
-Derrick Duckworth, Founder, Committed to Communities
-John O’Callaghan, President & CEO, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
-Sarah Kirsch, Executive Director, Urban Land Institute Atlanta Chapter - Moderator

QUESTIONS?

Contact Susan Adams at sadams@andpi.org or 404-420-1595.