On June 6, 2008 at the Provo City Library, the 2008 Utah County Summit on Affordable Housing  was held.  It was sponsored by the Utah Mortgage Lenders Association, Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, The Utah Valley Home Builders Association and the Utah County Association of REALTORS. This first ever summit was the brainchild of Talylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of REALTORS and supported  by Kenny Parcell, President of the Utah County Association of REALTORS.

The first Speaker was Dr. Kelly Matthews, of Wells Fargo Bank.  Dr. Mattews provided the audience with great research.  His research indicates that nationally we are not in a recession, a slowdown, but not a recession.  Most of the down numbers are centered in the four hardest hit states of Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California.  Locally, Utah maintains one of the strongest economys with a 2% growth, whereas much of the rest of the country is less than 1%.  Dr. Matthews did note that home prices in Utah have fallen around 10% and he feels they need to drop another 10%, perhaps over the next 12 to 18 months to correct the problems facing the housing industry in Utah.  In order to get homes back in the affordable range according to Dr. Matthews estimates, a home worth $250,000 in the height of the housing boom must  be priced around  $200,000  in the next 12 to 18 months.

Lt. Governor Gary Herbert addressed the audience following Dr. Matthews.  He stressed that this market is incredible compared to what he worked in in the 1980s.  He suggested working toghether to come up with creative ideas to solve the affordibility issue in the local housing market..

The final two hours brought panel discussion on the issue of affordable housing.  The first panel was titled The Role of Government, Cities and Towns,--Density Requirements and Zoning.  The panel Moderator was Tad Walch the Utah County Bureau Chief of The Deseret News.  Panelists were Mike Glenn of the Utah Division of Housing, Brad Bishop, Executive Director of Rural Housing Development Corporation and Dave Brown, Director single Family Housing, USDA.  The panelists offered insights on how to  apply for government programs to make housing more affordable.

The last Panel entitled The Role of Consumer/Lending Institutions--Financing and Credit Scores was moderated by Craig Dennis, Publisher of The Daily Herald.  Panelists were Al Bingham of National City Mortgage and author of The Road to 850 Proven Strategies For Increasing Your Credit Score, Deon Spilker, Utah Housing Corporation, Ron Winterton, American West Lending and Matt Barton of Affiliated Realty Group.  Al Bingham brought great insight on the importance of credit scores and affordable housing.  He told the audience that www.Myfico.com is the best source to get the most accurate credit score.  All of the panelists shared their concern that education on credit scoring and the financing process  not only among consumers but also among those in the industry is a huge key to consumers choosing good loans over bad loans and helping assure that we do not repeat the problems that have led to the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Finally, The Provo Housing Authority was given the Utah County Association of REALTORS Housing Advocate Award.

I think the next step is to go from talking  about making housing more affordable to taking action and making it a reality.