By Brian Montgomery

December 14, 2011

What are the most pressing issues in housing policy today?

View the full forum here.

The noted science fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin might have been referring to the present day when she opined that “the only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.”

With all due respect to Ms. LeGuin, I think most of us have had enough intolerable uncertainty, at least when it comes to the state of our economy.

Markets and people hate uncertainty—especially in a prolonged circumstance. Short of a multitude of national disasters or, heaven forbid, another attack on our soil, there is no other singular issue that is negatively impacting almost every American family like our stagnant and uncertain economy—fueled in large part by the nagging housing crisis. A crisis, I would add, that has many sub-sets.

By Jeffrey Lubell

December 14, 2011

What are the most pressing issues in housing policy today?

View the full forum here.

The punch line of my response is that the most pressing issues of housing policy today are not necessarily the most pressing issues of the medium- or long-term future. We have an obligation to work to resolve today’s pressing issues. But it’s critical that we start thinking now about how to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Waiting will only drive up costs and reduce options.

In the short-term, the foreclosure crisis and related challenges of neighborhood stabilization, large REO inventories, and underwater homeowners all loom large as critical issues to address. The housing finance system is struggling, restricting the availability of credit—a problem policymakers are threatening to worsen by raising down payment standards despite good evidence from a UNC study showing that low-down payment loans can be made safely to moderate-income families if properly underwritten.

By Kevin Igoe

December 14, 2011

What are the most pressing issues in housing policy today?

View the full forum here.

The most serious issue in housing policy today is the lack of certainty regarding the secondary mortgage finance market and the regulatory parameters in which it will operate.

Investors hate making decisions in a vacuum of information. Looking at the secondary mortgage market three years, five years or more into the future yields a murky view into the crystal ball.

The macro philosophical question is what role, if any, should government play in the housing market and secondary mortgage market. The biggest part of this question hangs over the GSE’s. The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be defined.

By Conrad Egan

December 14, 2011

What are the most pressing issues in housing policy today?

View the full forum here.

The most pressing issue about housing policy TODAY is the urgent need to think about the housing policy of the FUTURE.

A significant contribution to "FUTURETHINK" was made recently by the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University when the released a report and presentation in October, 2011, entitled "Housing the Region's Future Workforce."

The key findings are that "The types of housing that will be needed to accommodate new workers over the next 20 years reflects the changing demographics of the working age population and the mix of jobs the region is expecting. Thus, over 60 percent of the new housing units needed in the region over the next two decades will be multi-family while less than 40 percent will be single family. The region's current housing stock, by contrast, is 67 percent single-family and 33 percent multifamily.