Twenty years of housing policy: what's new, what's changed, what's ahead?

Abstract

This paper reviews the current state of the housing market, particularly in the shadow of the foreclosure crisis, the collapse of the financial system, and persistent unemployment. The authors outline the policy priorities necessary to facilitate the recovery of the housing market in general and to encourage comprehensive revitalization of the hardest hit communities.

Keywords:

• financial reform
• housing market
• foreclosure
• unemployment
• green development
• minority and women-owned business

Notes

¹ Housing Policy Debate has been successful in attracting many of the nation's most prominent housing scholars to serve as advisory board members since its first issue. The original board consisted of William Apgar, Robert Burchell, Stephen Buser, Stuart Butler, Peter Chinloy, Phillip Clay, Denise DiPasquale, Anthony Downs, James Follain, Anthony Freedman, Jack Guttentag, David Listokin, Kenneth Lore, Richard Muth, Mary Nenno, Edgar Olsen, John Quigley, Kenneth Rosen, Anthony Saunders, Morton Schusseim, C. F. Sirmans, Michael Stegman, George Sternlieb, Raymond Struyk, and Susan Wachter.

² Housing Policy Debate would not have been successful without its dedicated and talented initial assistant editors Patrick Simmons, Kathryn McLean, and Ellis Leslie.

³Office of Thrift Supervision. Mission and goals. http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=MissionGoal.

⁴RealtyTrac has reported over 300,000 foreclosure filings each month throughout 2010 and in 10 of the 12 months of 2009.

⁵59 percent of homeowners with a mortgage would not consider walking away from their home no matter how much their home is “underwater” according to a new survey from Trulia and RealtyTrac, May 20, 2010. Available at: http://www.RealtyTrac.com/contentmanagement/pressrelease.aspx?channelid=9&itemid=9230.

⁶Underwater mortgages are on the rise according to First American (CoreLogic 2010).

⁷Annual Foreclosure Report 2009, Press Release. RealtyTrac.

⁸HAMP's total $75 billion budget is funded with $50 billion from TARP and $25 billion from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

⁹Gene L. Dodaro, Testimony on the subject of the Troubled Asset Relief Program: Home Affordable Modification Program continues to face implementation challenges. GAO-10-556T. Presented to the US House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. March 25, 2010.

¹⁰For more information on the shortcomings of the HAMP program, see Carr and Lucas-Smith, forthcoming.

¹¹Gene L. Dodaro, Testimony on the subject of the Troubled Asset Relief Program: Home Affordable Modification Program continues to face implementation challenges. GAO-10-556T.

¹²Except for 32 Municipios in Puerto Rico.

¹³FDIC Failed Bank List: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html.

¹⁴FDIC Failed Bank List: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html.

¹⁵For more information on the shortcomings of the HAMP program and for more detailed recommendations on ways to stem the foreclosure crisis and mitigate the damage from defaults, see: Carr and Lucas-Smith forthcoming).

¹⁶For details regarding NCRC's HELP Now proposal, please see: http://www.ncrc.org/index.php?option=com_contentamp;task=viewamp;id=274amp;Itemid=195.

¹⁷Cleveland Housing Network Website http://www.chnnet.com/b_lease.asp

¹⁸The Cleveland Foundation. https://tcfonline.clevelandfoundation.org/catalog/org.shtml?org_id=7830.

¹⁹Cleveland Housing Network News. http://www.chnnet.com/keybank_donates.asp

²⁰Self-Help Lease-Purchase Program. http://www.self-help.org/neighborhood-stabilization-program/Self-Help%20Lease%20Purchase%20Programforwebsite.pdf/view?searchterm= fannie%20mae

²¹For more background on shared equity programs, see http://www.nhc.org/housing/sharedequity.

²²For more case studies in lease-purchase and shared equity homeownership models and other neighborhood revitalization strategies, see: Carr and Michelle Mulcahy, forthcoming.

²³For examples of effective strategies for local implementation of Section 3, see Carr and Mulcahy, forthcoming.

²⁴Kansas City, Missouri Section 3 Program. September 9, 2009. www.hud.gov/local/shared/news/r4/pres/section3-090909/kansascity.ppt

²⁵Kansas City, Missouri Section 3 Program. September 9, 2009. www.hud.gov/local/shared/news/r4/pres/section3-090909/kansascity.ppt

²⁶Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver. Building a stairway to economic self-sufficiency. http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/partners/04conference/kc_section3.pdf

²⁷Kansas City, Missouri Section 3 Program. September 9, 2009. www.hud.gov/local/shared/news/r4/pres/section3-090909/kansascity.ppt

²⁸For more case studies in neighborhood revitalization strategies, see: Carr and Mulcahy, forthcoming.

²⁹Sustainable housing and communities: overview. Department of Housing and Urban Development. http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities