A diverse group of housing stakeholders gathered at the Capitol today to call for substantial investment in housing as part of the budget reconciliation package currently being negotiated in Congress.
A new study finds that workers attracted to jobs created by bipartisan infrastructure legislation would struggle to afford housing across much of the country. The National Housing Conference (NHC) today released its Paycheck to Paycheck Fall 2021 Quarterly Update profiling 15 infrastructure-related occupations that would be in demand if the proposed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is passed. NHC found that homeownership already is unaffordable in a majority of metropolitan areas for all but one of the occupations it profiled. The study also found that many infrastructure workers would struggle even to afford to rent housing across much of the country.
The creation of a federal down payment assistance program for first-generation homebuyers would extend the American dream of homeownership to millions of families who have been excluded from it for too long. Families who lack the advantages of intergenerational homeownership have a harder time affording homes of their own, shutting them out of the opportunity to build wealth through homeownership and perpetuating a cycle of inequality. In concert with other proposals to expand housing opportunities, this bill will go a long way toward ensuring that American families are not locked out of wealth-building due to the circumstances of their birth. It should be funded at the highest possible level.
Today’s announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury that they have suspended limits on so-called “higher-risk loans” made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is an essential step towards increasing opportunities for those who have been denied access to the American dream of homeownership. The so-called “limits on loans with higher-risk characteristics” were unnecessary when they were instituted and only served to prevent credit-worthy homebuyers, disproportionately people of color, from becoming homeowners.
These appointments are good news for the housing industry and housing advocates across the board. Alanna McCargo is a major thought leader in the full range of home mortgage lending policy making. She has decades of experience working with a broad range of stakeholders including investors in government securities, mortgage loan servicers, and FHA financed homeowners. She has a deep understanding of the business imperatives and is committed to ensuring that these needs also meet the needs of the Federal Housing Administration’s diverse borrower base.
The recent Supreme Court ruling to overturn the CDC’s eviction moratorium makes it all the more important to disburse the funds that have been allocated to communities to provide rent assistance to qualified renters and landlords. For over a year, many apartment owners have covered the expenses and lost rent for renters unable to pay due to the pandemic. Most are small “mom and pop” landlords who depend on rental income to get by. State and local governments must do whatever is necessary to move this historic amount of support or return funds for reallocation to grantees who are successfully getting the money out.
FHFA’s new housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are an important step towards increasing liquidity of the affordable housing mortgage market. They will significantly improve the impact Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have on home mortgage lenders’ ability to increase homeownership opportunities to historically underserved communities. They are also well within historic risk levels to ensure the Enterprises operate safely and soundly while protecting homebuyers from taking irresponsible risks.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement that Fannie Mae will consider rental payment history in mortgage approval decisions is a significant innovation and a major step forward in expanding homeownership opportunities. In addition to expanding the pool of qualified borrowers, it enhances the safety of the mortgages by fully considering the most relevant predictor of mortgage risk: housing payment history.
We commend the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu for agreeing to rescind the OCC’s final rule on the Community Reinvestment Act, originally issued in May 2020.
Julia Gordon is the right person at the right time to lead the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). She is respected across the broad spectrum of stakeholders in the public, private and nonprivate sectors of housing and housing finance. Throughout her remarkable career, she has demonstrated the utmost commitment to housing and homeownership in America.
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