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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without. Compiled by the DS News Staff TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S Foreclosure inventory declined by 33.2 percent year-over- year in January 2015, down to 549,000, according to CoreLogic. Out of the approximately 489,000 permanent loan modifications completed last year, 136,898 of them were completed through Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), according to HOPE NOW. CASTRO: HUD BUDGET INCREASE WILL HELP MORE AMERICANS ACHIEVE HOMEOWNERSHIP PAGE 24 INSIDE THE JOURNAL // MOVERS & SHAKERS // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM Source: CoreLogic (as of January 2015) FIVE MINUTES WITH Bryan Lysikowski THE 10 STATES WITH THE HIGHEST FORECLOSURE INVENTORY 1 New Jersey 5.2% 2 New York 4.0% 3 Florida 3.5% 4 Hawaii 2.7% 5 Nevada 2.2% 6 Connecticut 2.1% 7 New Mexico 2.1% 8 Maryland 2.0% 9 Delaware 1.9% 10 Maine 1.9% State Percentage Ranking THE 10 STATES WITH THE LOWEST FORECLOSURE INVENTORY 1 Alaska 0.3% 2 Nebraska 0.4% 3 North Dakota 0.4% 4 Arizona 0.5% 5 California 0.5% 6 Colorado 0.5% 7 Minnesota 0.5% 8 Montana 0.5% 9 Utah 0.5% 10 Wyoming 0.5% Ranking State Percentage U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations regarding the HUD budget for the 2016 fiscal year, emphasizing the new budget will be used to help more Americans secure a home. e proposed budget would increase $4 billion from last year to a total of $49.3 billion. HUD's budget proposes more than $21 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which Castro said would extend support to more than 2.4 million low-income families. "is support is urgently needed. Last year Americans living in a number of cities, including Phoenix, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Denver were confronted with rents that increased by double-digits from the year before. And the crunch in housing affordability comes at a time when millions of our fellow citizens are working harder to make ends meet," he said. "As HUD outlined in our 2015 'Worst Case Housing Needs' report, there are currently 13.7 million very low-income households in the United States that receive no assistance to cover the cost of housing. Even more alarming, 7.7 million of those households—those with the 'worst case needs'—live in severely inadequate housing, pay more than 50 percent of their income in rent, or both." Castro said combatting homelessness is a crucial component to the budget. According to Castro, living in a safe, stable home is one of the biggest predictors of a child's success in both school and overall health. at's why the HUD budget is also "proposing funding that would effectively end chronic homelessness and make significant strides in our work to end homelessness among families and youth," he said. "With Congress' support through programs like HUD-VASH, we have seen dramatic reductions in homelessness among veterans. If our nation invests in the targeted programs we know work, we can make similar progress in tackling other forms of homelessness," he said. e proposed budget would give $2.5 billion to Homeless Assistance Grants, a $345 million increase over last year's funding. Another $117.5 million would be used to target Housing Choice Vouchers in an effort to support families experiencing homelessness, veterans, and American Indians living in tribal communities. HUD will also invest in programs that increase upward mobility for residents. e Jobs Plus initiative, a program designed to improve employment and earnings outcomes for public housing residents through supports such as work readiness, employer linkages, job placement, and financial literacy, will receive $100 million in funding. An $85 million investment would go to the Family Self-Sufficiency initiative, which could connect 80,000 families to job and financial literacy training and such important services as child care and transportation. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CO-FOUNDER OF ZVN PROPERTIES, INC.

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