NATIONAL NEWS (DES MOINES, Iowa) — — iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced its support of the newly launched CONVERGENCE® Knowledge Hub, a centralized resource designed to help lenders, nonprofit organizations, housing counselors, real estate professionals and community leaders expand access to sustainable homeownership.
Unveiled earlier this month by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the CONVERGENCE Collaborative, the Knowledge Hub brings together field-tested solutions, case studies, practical tools and research developed through years of collaboration among housing stakeholders working to address barriers to homeownership and housing affordability.
As part of the platform, iEmergent powers the Market Profile Dashboard, an interactive resource that allows users to explore local demographics, homeownership patterns, affordability challenges, mortgage credit access and housing supply trends across hundreds of U.S. markets. The dashboard helps communities identify homeownership gaps, understand local market dynamics and develop strategies tailored to the needs of their residents.
“The launch of the Knowledge Hub is exciting because it takes lessons that have emerged from years of collaboration in communities across the country and makes them accessible to a much broader audience,” said Laird Nossuli, CEO of iEmergent. “At its core, CONVERGENCE is about helping communities understand their local housing challenges, learn from what has worked elsewhere and build solutions that reflect their own needs. The Knowledge Hub brings those elements together in one place, combining practical resources, real-world examples and local market insights that can help stakeholders move from discussion to action.”
“iEmergent has been a cornerstone of CONVERGENCE’s ability to translate data into action at the local level,” said Wendy Penn, vice president of affordable housing initiatives at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Too often, communities have the motivation to expand homeownership but struggle to make the case for where to focus and why. The Market Profile Dashboard changes that, giving local leaders the evidence they need to align partners, prioritize resources and build strategies with real staying power.”
CONVERGENCE is an initiative launched in 2019 by the Mortgage Bankers Association to expand homeownership through innovative community partnerships. CONVERGENCE addresses the information, trust, resource and market gaps that create barriers to homeownership. CONVERGENCE operates place-based initiatives in Memphis, Tennessee, Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In each city, a mission-aligned local nonprofit organization serves as the lead partner, playing a central role in fostering collaboration among stakeholders across the housing ecosystem.
iEmergent’s contribution to the Knowledge Hub builds on years of involvement with CONVERGENCE initiatives nationwide. Nossuli currently serves as a national partner to CONVERGENCE and co-leads the Research and Evaluation workstream for both CONVERGENCE Philadelphia and Columbus. Beyond providing technology and market intelligence, iEmergent works alongside lenders, nonprofit organizations and municipal leaders to develop data-informed strategies, measure outcomes and expand access to sustainable homeownership.
Explore the CONVERGENCE Knowledge Hub at https://convergenceknowledgehub.org/.
About iEmergent
Founded in 2000, iEmergent provides mortgage lending forecasts and analytics to the lending, housing and real estate industries. The company offers an extensive variety of forecast and market intelligence products, including Mortgage MarketSmart, a visualization tool that helps lenders quantify how mortgage markets will change. For more information, visit https://www.iemergent.com.
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