Housing Groups See No Chance To Relax Lobbying After Bush Win
The nation's home builders, real estate sales people and mortgage bankers stood by their man in the presidential election and now they hope he stands by his housing agenda during the next four years.
These critics have consistently said the Bush administration has neglected renters, low-income housing residents and affordable housing development while favoring homeowners.
The administration has defended its approach on housing, which encourages private development of affordable housing and would establish economic opportunity zones to encourage public and private investment in distressed neighborhoods.
Bush in 2003 signed the American Dream Down Payment Act, which authorizes $200 million a year in down-payment and closing-cost assistance for about 40,000 low-income families, and has directed federal agencies to eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable housing development.
He has also proposed a zero-down-payment initiative for Federal Housing Administration borrowers, which would cut that required down payment from 3 percent to nothing, and a tax credit for lower-income homebuyers. But Crowley points out that the American Dream Down Payment Act has never been fully funded and that the other proposals have not been pushed by Republican congressional leaders or the administration.
...Fallout from Fannie and Freddie. The home builders and mortgage bankers also say they are worried that the administration's push to reform secondary mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have unintended consequences for housing.
NAHB's Howard said the notion of setting up a stronger regulator for the government-sponsored enterprises and of cracking down on reported accounting irregularities has broad support. But "what we're concerned about is, will there be any vacuums created" in the mortgage market.
"If they're just changing the structure of the regulator, perhaps there will not be as broad an impact. But if they're talking about changing the way the GSEs do business, that's a different kettle of fish," Howard said. His group's goal is to make sure the flow of capital to housing and the price of that capital is not hurt.
Steve O'Connor, vice president of industry relations and policy development at the Mortgage Bankers Association, agreed.
"The GSEs play an important part" in the housing market, he said, "and we want to make sure they continue to play that role. . . . We support reform but not if it hurts housing."
... National housing trust fund. Crowley's group also will work to pass an alternative approach to affordable housing production that was introduced in 2000 by Democratic presidential candidate Kerry. This national housing trust fund would create a dedicated source of money to build 1.5 million affordable rental units over 10 years, its backers say.
While the administration says the trust fund would duplicate other HUD programs and unwisely takes funds from an FHA mortgage insurance fund, Crowley and her allies say the idea would work.
In the House, trust fund legislation has 214 co-sponsors, but the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has not allowed it to come up for a vote, Crowley said.
One of the coalition's big pushes next year will be to line up enough votes to bring the bill to the House floor.
November 13, 2004
ReplyDeleteIndustry Plans To Keep Up The Pressure
Housing Groups See No Chance To Relax Lobbying After Bush Win
The nation's home builders, real estate sales people and mortgage bankers stood by their man in the presidential election and now they hope he stands by his housing agenda during the next four years.
These critics have consistently said the Bush administration has neglected renters, low-income housing residents and affordable housing development while favoring homeowners.
The administration has defended its approach on housing, which encourages private development of affordable housing and would establish economic opportunity zones to encourage public and private investment in distressed neighborhoods.
Bush in 2003 signed the American Dream Down Payment Act, which authorizes $200 million a year in down-payment and closing-cost assistance for about 40,000 low-income families, and has directed federal agencies to eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable housing development.
He has also proposed a zero-down-payment initiative for Federal Housing Administration borrowers, which would cut that required down payment from 3 percent to nothing, and a tax credit for lower-income homebuyers. But Crowley points out that the American Dream Down Payment Act has never been fully funded and that the other proposals have not been pushed by Republican congressional leaders or the administration.
...Fallout from Fannie and Freddie. The home builders and mortgage bankers also say they are worried that the administration's push to reform secondary mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have unintended consequences for housing.
NAHB's Howard said the notion of setting up a stronger regulator for the government-sponsored enterprises and of cracking down on reported accounting irregularities has broad support. But "what we're concerned about is, will there be any vacuums created" in the mortgage market.
"If they're just changing the structure of the regulator, perhaps there will not be as broad an impact. But if they're talking about changing the way the GSEs do business, that's a different kettle of fish," Howard said. His group's goal is to make sure the flow of capital to housing and the price of that capital is not hurt.
Steve O'Connor, vice president of industry relations and policy development at the Mortgage Bankers Association, agreed.
"The GSEs play an important part" in the housing market, he said, "and we want to make sure they continue to play that role. . . . We support reform but not if it hurts housing."
... National housing trust fund. Crowley's group also will work to pass an alternative approach to affordable housing production that was introduced in 2000 by Democratic presidential candidate Kerry. This national housing trust fund would create a dedicated source of money to build 1.5 million affordable rental units over 10 years, its backers say.
While the administration says the trust fund would duplicate other HUD programs and unwisely takes funds from an FHA mortgage insurance fund, Crowley and her allies say the idea would work.
In the House, trust fund legislation has 214 co-sponsors, but the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has not allowed it to come up for a vote, Crowley said.
One of the coalition's big pushes next year will be to line up enough votes to bring the bill to the House floor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45660-2004Nov12_4.html