Roberto Quercia—PI. This research, funded by the Ford Foundation, will allow the continuance of data collection from earlier Panel studies, and to undertake important analyses of the data. Cumulatively, the research will result in an extensive and unique collection of data, including: 1) loan origination data for an estimated 50,000 affordable housing mortgages purchased by the Self-Help Credit Union since 1998; 2) seven or more years of in-depth survey data from an original sample of 3,743 homeowners; and 3) six or more years of in-depth survey data from an original sample of 1,531 renters who both serve as a comparison group and an opportunity to observe the transition from renting to owning a home. The survey data include demographic and household characteristics and information on the following topics: home purchase experiences; social capital and networks; parenting, wealth and assets; new mortgage products; financial literacy and savings attitudes; energy costs and medical costs; credit score knowledge; housing experiences; and economic challenges. The requested funding will allow us to collect additional waves of data for both panels during the current economic downturn and assess how our sample of low-to-moderate income respondents is dealing with the financial crisis. The funding will also allow us to prepare a series of program and policy reports to document the findings from the research. Contact Roberto Quercia at quercia@email.unc.edu for more information on the CAP studies.
Read a recent report based on the Community Advantage Panel research on the Center for Community Capital website.