WASHINGTON, July 24, 2008

The city of Alexandria, Va., has been named an Ambassador City by the National Association of Realtors^® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors for its affordable housing and foreclosure prevention initiatives. Alexandria is receiving the designation because of the ongoing partnership between the city and the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors^®.

“Realtors® build communities and are the leading advocates for consumers’ housing needs, both in Alexandria and cities across the country,” said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “Through innovative partnerships like this, more consumers are able to achieve and sustain the American dream of homeownership.”

Most recently, NVAR and the city worked together to host foreclosure prevention seminars to help homeowners stay in their homes. The seminars helped increase awareness about the foreclosure process and the resources available to individuals facing foreclosure. The two groups also produced a video podcast to help reach out to residents who couldn’t attend the seminars.

NVAR participates in the city’s annual homeownership fair, which helps address affordable housing issues by educating low- and moderate-income residents who rent rather than own their homes; approximately 60 percent of Alexandria’s residents are renters. The fair attracts hundreds of area residents and offers homeownership seminars and housing and financial counseling services.

Previously, NVAR partnered with the city to organize home buyer seminars for city employees and employees of Alexandria City Public Schools. The goal of these seminars is to raise awareness of affordable housing resources and increase the number of city employees such as teachers, firefighters and police officers who live in the city of Alexandria; currently, only 15 percent of the city’s workforce lives within the city limits. The seminars educate employees on the benefits of homeownership, local market conditions, and the home loan process, and provide information on housing assistance programs that the city offers to its employees.

During an event today at the Alexandria City Hall, Realtor^® Kit Hale, liaison to NAR’s Housing Opportunity Advisory Board, joined Director David Gatton, Council on the New American City, U.S. Conference of Mayors, in presenting the Ambassador for Cities plaque and $5,000 to Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille and NVAR Chairman Jane Quill and CEO Christine Todd.

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.

Reprinted from www.realtor.org