A few weeks ago, I wrote about lowering the loan limits for mortgages insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress, to their credit, wisely decided to restore the limits to their original, lower levels. Unfortunately, Congress decided to keep in the place the higher limits for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)—up to $729,900 in some areas.
Category Archives: Housing
Lowering the Limits for Mortgages Insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
In the past week, the news about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac focused on the $13 million in bonuses paid to the top executives. But a much more significant story has received much less publicity: the bipartisan resistance to the lowering of the mortgage limits for Fannie and Freddie.
Mortgage refinancing: Will it really stimulate the economy?
In October, President Obama unveiled part of his plan to try to help the ailing housing market. Specifically, he is expanding access and reducing barriers to his 2009 HARP program that allowed homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower rates. However, takeup was minimal because underwater loans were not able to participate, and because upfront fees were high.
Two policies using immigration to boost investment
Can foreigners be lured by favorable VISA treatment into creating new jobs and bolstering home prices in the U.S.?
Yesterday’s Boston Globe had an interesting article about a program designed to increase business investment in the United States.
The immigrant investor program, created in 1990 by Congress to compete with a similar initiative in Canada, helps foreigners slash through the red tape in the US immigration system while allowing businesses … to raise the money they need to expand.
Homebuyer Tax Credits Threaten the FHA [Wall Street Journal]
Funding a down payment with the credit increases the odds the buyer will default.
Continue reading
Mortgage Relief: A Better Approach [Harvard Business]
Back in February, the Obama Administration committed $75 billion to make mortgages more affordable to homeowners under financial pressure. Last week, however, the Congressional Oversight Panel for the financial bailout criticized the design of this mortgage modification program, and declared that “in the best case” it would prevent half as many foreclosures as the Administration predicted.
Pozen proposes a different kind of principal reduction program instead of the current mortgage modification program.
Reaction To Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Rescue Plan [Bloomberg]
Analysis by Jim Rogers, Rogers Holdings Chairman, Barton Biggs of Traxis Partners, Robert Pozen, MFS Investment Management Chairman, Laszlo Biriyni, Biriyni Associates President, Howard Shapiro of Fox-Pitt.