9: Housing & Home Ownership

Ending the Housing Crisis and Expanding Opportunities for Homeownership.

Other Information:

Homeownership expands personal liberty, builds communities, and helps Americans create wealth. “The American Dream” is not a stale slogan. It is the lived reality that expresses the aspirations of all our people. It means a decent place to live, a safe place to raise kids, a welcoming place to retire. It bespeaks the quiet pride of those who work hard to shelter their family and, in the process, create caring neighborhoods. Homeownership is best fostered by a growing economy with low interest rates, as well as prudent regulation, financial education, and targeted assistance to responsible borrowers. The collapse of the housing market over the last four years has been not only a severe blow to the entire economy, but also a personal tragedy to millions of Americans whose homes have lost value and to so many others who have lost their homes. Combined with high unemployment, that decline has left countless homeowners saddled with mortgages exceeding the value of their homes. The response of the current Administration has done little to improve, and much to worsen, the situation. By discouraging private sector investment, it has stalled the housing recovery. Its massive intervention in the housing market, with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backing nearly all new mortgages, has hit the taxpayers with a bill for almost $200 billion to bail out the latter two institutions. It has spent billions more on poorly designed and ineffective housing assistance programs. Making matters worse, the Congress, under Democrat control, enacted the Dodd-Frank Act, a massive labyrinth of costly new regulations that deter lenders from lending to creditworthy homebuyers and that disproportionately harms small and community banks. As a result, home sales remain weak, investment in housing remains depressed, construction industry jobs remain down, and mortgage lending has yet to recover to pre-crisis levels.

Stakeholder(s):

• Homeowners


• Federal Housing Administration (FHA)


• Fannie Mae


• Freddie Mac

Objective(s):

9.1: Homeownership

9.1.1: Mortgage Finance System

9.1.2: Underwriting Standards & Guidelines

9.1.3: Legal Safe Harbor

9.1.4: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

9.1.5: FHA

9.1.6: Principal Write-Downs

9.1.7: Mortgage Fraud & Financial Crimes

9.1.8: FDIC Insurance

9.1.9: Renters

9.1.9.1: Apartments & Multi-Family Housing

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