WASHINGTON - With foreclosures spiking and an ever-increasing array of mortgage lending options from which home buyers can choose, an NAR committee on Wednesday decided to investigate whether to endorse voluntary industry standards on consumer education and counseling programs.

"The timing has never been better for our industry at large to come together for some standardization," said Janya Bower of NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization for affordable housing that has led efforts in creating the standards. "This would provide a unified voice for the industry on behalf of consumers."

The standards - National Homeownership Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling- address areas of competency for educators and counselors such as money management, credit, banking, and mortgage financing. They also include training and certification benchmarks by setting minimum hours of training and proposing certification requirements that include continuing education.

NAR's Housing Needs committee will form a working group that will report back to the committee on its findings about the standards during the association's 2007 convention in Las Vegas. Several groups, including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and several banks, already have endorsed the standards.

Also at Wednesday's committee meeting the committee explored plans to create a Housing Opportunities Certificate program educating REALTORS® about expanding affordable housing opportunities for first-time and work force home buyers. The committee will seek input on the program and develop a comprehensive proposal to present at NAR's annual convention.

- By Melissa Dittmann Tracey for REALTOR® Magazine Online