NAHB pushes for housing finance reform
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) continues to throw its support behind Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and his housing finance reform proposal.
Testifying on this issue before the Senate Banking Committee, NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde, a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn., said that an effective housing finance system must address liquidity as well as affordability.
“An essential component of any strategy for housing affordability must be advancing comprehensive housing finance reform which will ensure the capital and liquidity necessary for housing developers, builders, lenders and consumers to access stable financing,” said Ugalde.
The NAHB said that it believes Crapo has put forth a thoughtful outline for housing finance reform that includes essential elements that would achieve these aims.
“In particular, we appreciate the chairman’s continued support for an explicit government backstop for a key portion of the conventional mortgage market,” said Ugalde. “We firmly believe this is critical to ensuring the ongoing availability of the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which is essential to affordable homeownership, as well as preserving support for the financing of affordable multifamily properties.”
The impact of housing affordability was felt in the March 26 housing starts report from the Department of Commerce. Housing starts in February fell 8.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.162 million units from the revised January estimate of 1.273 million units.
Single‐family starts fell 17% in February to a rate of 805,000 units from the revised January figure of 970,000 units.
In a statement issued by the NAHB, the association said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been languishing for the past decade with comprehensive housing finance reform needed.
“Having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue in conservatorship with no end in sight contributes to uncertainty regarding mortgage availability and affordability and is therefore both undesirable and unsustainable,” said Ugalde.
Ugalde has urged lawmakers to take a long-term, holistic approach to housing finance system reform.
“NAHB also urges Congress to carefully consider the differences between the single-family and multifamily market and not apply solutions to one piece of the market that are not appropriate for the other,” he said.
Testifying on this issue before the Senate Banking Committee, NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde, a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn., said that an effective housing finance system must address liquidity as well as affordability.
“An essential component of any strategy for housing affordability must be advancing comprehensive housing finance reform which will ensure the capital and liquidity necessary for housing developers, builders, lenders and consumers to access stable financing,” said Ugalde.
The NAHB said that it believes Crapo has put forth a thoughtful outline for housing finance reform that includes essential elements that would achieve these aims.
“In particular, we appreciate the chairman’s continued support for an explicit government backstop for a key portion of the conventional mortgage market,” said Ugalde. “We firmly believe this is critical to ensuring the ongoing availability of the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which is essential to affordable homeownership, as well as preserving support for the financing of affordable multifamily properties.”
The impact of housing affordability was felt in the March 26 housing starts report from the Department of Commerce. Housing starts in February fell 8.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.162 million units from the revised January estimate of 1.273 million units.
Single‐family starts fell 17% in February to a rate of 805,000 units from the revised January figure of 970,000 units.
In a statement issued by the NAHB, the association said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been languishing for the past decade with comprehensive housing finance reform needed.
“Having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue in conservatorship with no end in sight contributes to uncertainty regarding mortgage availability and affordability and is therefore both undesirable and unsustainable,” said Ugalde.
Ugalde has urged lawmakers to take a long-term, holistic approach to housing finance system reform.
“NAHB also urges Congress to carefully consider the differences between the single-family and multifamily market and not apply solutions to one piece of the market that are not appropriate for the other,” he said.