Housing Counseling Process Evaluation and Design of ... - HUD User

Summary
This chapter provided an overview of the housing counseling industry, beginning with a description
of the types of housing education and counseling services tracked by HUD and used in the counseling
agency survey for this study. Housing “education” is generally used to refer to group sessions that
are not tailored to an individual’s circumstances, while “counseling” usually refers to one-on-one
sessions focused on an individual’s circumstances and goals. This study uses the term “housing
counseling industry” to refer collectively to the organizations offering either group and/or individual
sessions.
Following the discussion of education and counseling categories, the chapter presented a brief history
of the housing counseling industry and HUD’s role in supporting the industry. The counseling
industry was created in the 1960s with the goal of helping low- and moderate-income families
succeed as homeowners and avoid foreclosure. In the 1990s, the emphasis of Federal and state policy
makers on increasing low-income and minority homeownership, combined with other factors,
contributed to the growth of pre-purchase counseling. By 2004, pre-purchase clients were the second
largest group of counseling clients, accounting for 30 percent of all clients and second only to renters,
who continued to account for the single largest share of clients.
After 2005, the volume of pre-purchase clients decreased and the volume of post-purchase clients
increased. In 2007, post-purchase clients accounted for the single largest share of all clients. The
increase in post-purchase clients reflects an increase both in homeowners seeking help with mortgage
delinquency and in homeowners seeking assistance with refinancing decisions and reverse mortgages.
HUD funding for housing counseling began around $3 million per year during the 1970s and 1980s
but increased rapidly in the 1990s, reaching $20 million by 1998. In 2003, HUD funding increased
again, to $40 million. Funding remained around $40 million through 2007, but increased to $50
million in 2008.
The number of HUD-approved agencies providing housing counseling has grown over time as well.
HUD approval does not guarantee that an agency will be awarded HUD housing counseling funds,
and there are a much larger number of HUD-approved agencies than there are HUD-funded agencies.
There are currently about 1,800 HUD-approved counseling agencies with about 2,400 local offices
nationwide. About 830 of these agencies are affiliated with national or regional intermediaries and
about 150 are affiliated with SHFAs. Counseling agencies are found in most urban areas around the
country—46 percent of the U.S. population lives in counties where there are at least 4 counseling
agencies and 79 percent live in counties with at least one counseling agency.
Chapter 2. Overview of the Housing Counseling Industry 23