Assesses the Federal Home Loan Bank Systems's implementation of the Affordable Housing Program by addressing how the program's funds have been used to support affordable housing initiatives; how the program has been administered; & what opportunities exist for improvement. Contains recommendations aimed at improving the program's administration & assistance to the intended beneficiaries. 25 charts, tables & graphs.
One of the biggest challenges for students of housing is understanding the financial principles which underpin the place of housing in the wider economy. By taking a political economy approach, Peter King's Understanding Housing Finance makes the basic principles of the subject accessible, without requiring detailed prior knowledge of economics or financial systems. The book explains housing finance by exploring the way in which markets and governments react together. It takes a conceptual approach to consider the advantages and limits of housing markets and why governments intervene. The consequences of intervention are explored in detail using examples of housing subsidy systems and policy mechanisms such as rent control, housing allowances and subsidies to owner occupation. This is a key reference for students on housing and planning courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The book's approach means that its relevance is not confined to one particular housing system, but is useful for those studying housing finance in most developed and developing countries.
There is a large shortage of affordable housing across Europe. In high‐demand urban areas housing shortages lead to unaffordable prices for many target groups. This book explores innovations to support a sufficient supply of affordable and sustainable rental housing. Affordable housing is increasingly developed, financed and managed by a mix of market, state, third sector and community actors. Recent decades in large parts of the Western world have consecutively shown state-dominated, non-profit housing sectors, an increased role for market forces and the private sector, and the rise of initiatives by citizens and local communities. The variety of hybrid governance and finance arrangements is predicted to increase further, leading to new affordable housing delivery and management models. This book explores these innovations, with a focus on developments across Europe, and comparative chapters from the USA and Australia. The book presents new thinking in collaborative housing, co-production and accompanying finance mechanisms in order to support the quantity and the quality of affordable rental housing. Combining academic robustness with practical relevance, chapters are written by renowned housing researchers in collaboration with practitioners from the housing sector. The book not only presents, compares and contrasts affordable housing solutions, but also explores the transferability of innovations to other countries. The book is essential reading for researchers and professionals in housing, social policy, urban planning and finance.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that played a prominent role in the financial crisis of 2008, and the federal government have come to a crossroads. The government must make key decisions about their structure, and indeed, their very existence. The government has played an important role in the American housing market since the early 1930s, when the Great Depression ushered in housing programs to promote a stable society. The government's role expanded further during the recent housing and financial crisis—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now dominate the American housing market, backing more than 62 percent of new mortgages and holding more than $5 trillion in accumulated mortgage risk. In The Future of Housing Finance Martin Baily and his associates discuss the issues and options that policymakers face as they reassess the government's role in the U.S. residential mortgage market. While presenting diverse analytical perspectives, including a contribution from former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, all contributors agree that the government's support for mortgage financing in the recent past was too broad and deep but some role is necessary to maintain the stability of the housing finance market. The Obama administration has recommended reducing the role of Fannie and Freddie while replacing them with a private market approach, but continuing federal support for worthy borrowers. But what will Congress agree to? And how fast will it move on any initiative? Specific topics include: • Introduction of a new system to reduce incentives that encourage excessive risk taking. • Gradual withdrawal of Fannie and Freddie from the housing finance system. • New approaches to regulating mortgage securitization, with financial stability as a primary goal. • Use of government-backed guarantees through institutional structures designed to limit moral hazard.
