The President Moves on Housing Reform
With the great housing reform debate underway, today the White House weighed in with President Obama’s plan for the future of housing finance in America. I, for one, was pleased that the President laid out a vision for housing finance, with key elements similar to those embraced by many stakeholders in the nation’s housing finance system. This is an issue that affects the well-being of every American, whether a homeowner or a renter, and we welcome the President’s attention and leadership.
Particularly important is the president’s insistence on transitioning the mortgage market toward a future state that will rely primarily on private capital, while at the same time ensuring sufficient liquidity and the availability of the affordable 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and mortgages that finance multifamily rental housing, in both good and bad times, through an appropriate use of a government guarantee.
Access to credit for many qualified borrowers is still not being attained. While reports show that there is more credit available for borrowers, the bottom line is that credit is still very limited and not always accessible to qualified low- to middle-class families, even those with strong payment histories. President Obama stressed the need to simplify overlapping regulations to help qualified families obtain a loan and touted the industry’s work with the Administration to do so.
The White House believes, as I do, that both legislative and non-legislative solutions are necessary in order to continue the housing recovery as comprehensive reforms move down the road. Going forward it will be critical that the White House and Congress work in a bi-partisan, cooperative manner to develop and implement long-term housing finance policies that support and protect all consumers, while at the same time promoting access to credit for all qualified borrowers.
This was a huge step in the right direction. While I’m pleased that many of the concepts laid out align with initiatives that I have been talking about in this space, I’m eager to see how the plan moves forward and work through the details.
And so, now the hard work begins. Policymakers, industry leaders and consumer groups must work through the details for a system that will protect consumers, stabilize and grow the housing market, and grow the economy. While working toward near-term solutions to maintain liquidity and prepare for historical change, we will work for comprehensive reform that encompasses every facet of the industry – residential, commercial and multifamily – to ensure a safe, sustainable, accessible and successful real estate finance system.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
REALTOR? Sales, Customer Service & Market Inventory Statistics Agent at UTR TEXAS REALTORS?
11 年Go ahead - monitor and delete my postings because they do not agree with your dilusions
REALTOR? Sales, Customer Service & Market Inventory Statistics Agent at UTR TEXAS REALTORS?
11 年This was not a jab at Fox News! It was a jab at the media. Fox News is my number 1 choice and the news channel that I count on most often. I only tune into the other news channels to see if they are covering any of the news items that I would consider important; i.e. the type of news Items that would be covered on Fox News. For example most recently I have been searching for talk of Chris Lane and how Jessie Jackson described his killing as “frowned upon” rather than “a senseless heinous act”. My 1) point was I did not realize I was following an Obama admirer my second point being the spin on the news article itself . . . how the other side looks at the same news differently.
REALTOR? Sales, Customer Service & Market Inventory Statistics Agent at UTR TEXAS REALTORS?
11 年Jim, in response to your comment......This was not a jab at Fox News! It was a jab at the media. Fox News is my number 1 choice and the news channel that I count on most often. I only tune into the other news channels to see if they are covering any of the news items that I would consider important; i.e. the type of news Items that would be covered on Fox News. For example most recently I have been searching for talk of Chris Lane and how Jessie Jackson described his killing as “frowned upon” rather than “a senseless heinous act”. The first point that I was trying to make is that I did not realize I was following an Obama admirer; the second point being the spin on the news article itself . . . how the other side looks at the same news differently. i.e. I guess I will hang in there to see if I can gleam a positive understanding of the other side. This is my attempt to reach over to the other side of the isle to see if there is any common ground.
$imple Fixed Commi$$ion $trategies
11 年The incentives are all wrong; it’s no wonder that people have over-borrowed and overspent given that the system is so blatantly slanted to promote such behavior. Housing is one of the most interesting examples of bad incentives: tax policy in many countries encourages people to take out debilitating mortgages, and governments end up with a moral imperative to ensure home prices continue rising. Our bureaucrats keep trying to figure out ways to ‘prop up the housing market’ and distort prices, often through policy that is very unfriendly to homeowners. In our current western economic culture system, you are rewarded for going into debt with all sorts of tax deductions. Save money, on the other hand, and you are punished through taxation and inflation.