This month, February 2012, the Opportunity Agenda published the "Compact for Home Opportunity," [PDF] which outlines a series of recommendations designed to reverse the economic damage of the mortgage and homeownership crisis. The Opportunity Agenda report underscores the need for collective action on the part of private and public actors (at various levels of government) to work toward decreasing housing inequity in the face of record foreclosure rates. The report outlines different actions that banks and mortgage services, state and municipal governments, and the federal government can take to reduce risks to future borrowers and homeowners navigating an uncertain market.

The report divides potential housing finance policy prescriptions into five categories 

       -Preventing foreclosures
       -Ensuring fair and sustainable mortgages
       -Restoring neighborhoods
       -Rebuilding economic security
       -Fostering fair housing

The graphic below, created by the Opportunity Agenda, breaks these five categories into the specific actions that can be taken.
 


The Network blog has focused on the disproportionate impact that housing and mortgage crisis has wrought on communities of color, and the subsequent decrease in asset wealth. The recommendations described in the Opportunity Agenda report would start the process of repairing the negative impact that the foreclosure crisis has had on many homeowners, including those behind on their loans and those contending with significant decreases in the value of their home.