HUD Nominee Donovan Expected to Lead the Obama Administration’s Foreclosure Prevention Campaign

Shaun Donovan, housing commissioner of New York City since 2004 and a nominee for the top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is expected to lead incoming President-elect Barack Obama’s foreclosure prevention program.

Since 2004, Donovan has led New York City’s affordable housing program. The city is known for its high-priced real estate distressed properties.

As city housing commissioner, Donovan has been responsible in implementing Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to develop nearly 165,000 affordable housing units for city residents who cannot afford to pay rents and mortgages and are in some stage of foreclosure.

The issue of affordable housing has tormented city officials. The city’s home ownership rate was 33 percent lower than the 67 percent nationwide, making it the US city with the lowest homeownership rate.

Even after the increased in the number of distressed properties, a single-bedroom apartment in the city can be rented for as high as $3,000 monthly or sell for about $1 million or higher.

Supporters of Donavan cited that out of nearly 17,000 homeowners who have availed of the city’s affordable housing program, only 5 have faced foreclosures.

Executive director of the city chapter of Habitat for Humanities, Josh Lockwood said that Donovan has prioritized homeownership by providing financial literacy education and home ownership education to low-income buyers.

Donovan is credited for finding innovative ways to fund the city’s affordable housing program, such as using philanthropic and public funds to supplement private money and coordinating with non-profit group and developers to build houses for different income levels.

Enterprise Community Partners Chief Executive Officer Dooris Koo credited Donovan for reducing the effect of the increasing number of foreclosed homes by counseling, securing funding for loan modifications and identifying neighborhoods in the city with high rate of homeownership.

Donovan, who holds masters degrees in architecture and public administration, filed a leave as housing commissioner of New York City to campaign for President-elect Obama. To return the favor, Obama nominated him as HUD secretary.

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