FirstAm, NAREB Form Alliance

The First American Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers have announced the formation of a partnership aimed at boosting the rate of African-American homeownership.Under the five-point plan, First American will provide lead generation data resources; offer its proprietary credit scoring products to assist NAREB's Rebuild America Homeownership Counseling Division; and make available a Web-based, point-of-sale technology platform to streamline loan origination by NAREB members, known as Realtists. In addition, NAREB -- which calls itself the oldest and largest minority real estate trade association in the nation -- and First American will join with municipal housing agencies in 10 urban areas to offer downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers. The fifth point involves selecting and funding the top 10 NAREB local boards to assist in rolling out a co-branded real estate financial literacy program next year. First American can be found online at http://www.firstam.com, and NAREB can be found at http://www.nareb.com.