The departing secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Henry G. Cisneros, has unveiled several new initiatives in the Clinton administration's drive to increase homeownership.
Among the new steps, announced last week, are:
*A national conference to be held today on paring regulations that govern the building of affordable housing. Home builders say that stringent building codes pile on needless costs.
*The Homeownership Counseling Institute, funded by Fannie Mae and 15 other housing groups, will begin work in January to ensure that the quality of homeownership counseling around the country is consistent. Such counseling is seen by many as crucial to extending homeownership to low- income borrowers who may have little experiencce with it.
*A nationwide awareness campaign will be launched in the first week of June, during a newly designated National Homeownership Week, to mark the second anniversary of the Administration's homeownership program.
Dubbed the National Homeownership Strategy, the drive was launched last year by President Clinton. Mr. Cisneros has attributed recent gains in the rate of homeownership, in part, to the drive.
Four additional groups have joined the 58-member coalition formed to carry out the strategy.
The new members are the National Association of Housing Partnerships, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, National Association of Housing Redevelopment Organizations, and the National Association of Development Organizations.
The coalition includes the major housing trade groups;, several lenders; and the secondary-market.
