By Michael Stubel

April 1, 2012

Welcome to the BPC Housing Commission expert forum! This forum is intended to foster interactive and substantive discussion about pressing housing issues. Each month contributors from different parts of the housing sector will be invited to respond to a discussion topic.

Guest posts are shared regularly with Housing Commissioners to help inform their work.

Have a pressing question you’d like us to consider? Please leave it in the comments section. We encourage you and our expert bloggers to add comments, contributing to the national dialogue on solutions for the future of the housing sector.

Expert bloggers are not members of the BPC Housing Commission. Any views expressed on this forum do not necessarily represent the views of the Housing Commission, its Co-Chairs, or the Bipartisan Policy Center.

How can housing policy be responsive to today’s urgent needs (e.g., foreclosures, a sluggish housing market, affordability, etc.) and simultaneously address long-term trends (e.g., an aging population, growth of younger households)?

Reduce Uncertainty, Preserve Tax Incentives
By Angela Antonelli

There is little doubt that we have not yet seen the bottom of the housing market. The private sector is already working to correct the market imbalances and has the ability to do much more. Unfortunately, the constantly changing policy landscape creates uncertainty that impedes progress in solving the housing crisis. The federal government needs to stop experimenting with new programs or changing programs that have actually worked well and outline a decisive plan for the return of private capital to replace the dominant role government has played in housing finance. No plan will be perfect or entirely fair. But we must decide.