By Brian Montgomery

May 1, 2012

What lessons can the U.S. learn from housing programs, policies, or regulatory frameworks in other countries? Are there specific tools in use (e.g., covered bonds, full recourse loans, prepayment penalties, etc.) that we should consider adopting or using on a larger scale?

View the full forum here.

Many countries maintain high homeownership levels and functional mortgage markets. As the U.S. undergoes regulatory reform and market contraction, it is timely to draw on other countries’ experiences. Some European countries offer insight into alternative finance mechanisms, reform and accounting convergence for U.S. policymakers and lawmakers.

Although the U.S. ranks relatively high in homeownership at 66.1 percent of the population in 2011 (although if you back-out the estimated 1.6 million homes where the borrower has not made a payment in more than 24 months the rate could be as low as 63%), several European countries have higher rates (U.S. Census Bureau 2011).

By Jonathan Reckford

May 1, 2012

What lessons can the U.S. learn from housing programs, policies, or regulatory frameworks in other countries? Are there specific tools in use (e.g., covered bonds, full recourse loans, prepayment penalties, etc.) that we should consider adopting or using on a larger scale?

View the full forum here.

Though commerce and social media have seemed to shrink the world and invalidate boundaries, the reality is that we must still look carefully at our assertions anytime we use the word “global.” At Habitat for Humanity, we have found this to be especially true about housing issues. There are very few universal truths about housing and land ownership, and no individual country has housing policy completely figured out.

Our desire to advocate for those in need of adequate and affordable shelter led us to become a primary partner in the Global Housing Policy Indicators Project in 2004. Through this project we began assessing regulations, policies and practices concerning housing in various locations.

By Mark Calabria

May 1, 2012

What lessons can the U.S. learn from housing programs, policies, or regulatory frameworks in other countries? Are there specific tools in use (e.g., covered bonds, full recourse loans, prepayment penalties, etc.) that we should consider adopting or using on a larger scale?

View the full forum here.

Social scientists do not have the luxury of natural experiments. When it comes to housing policy, we will not exactly know the precise impact of saying removing the mortgage interest deduction until we do so. We are forced to rely on theory and imperfect comparisons. A useful and rich set of comparisons are the policies of other countries. Such offer us an interesting list of do’s and don’ts.

First let’s acknowledge that despite previous claims, America’s system of housing and mortgage finance is not “the envy of the world”. Few countries are scrambling to copy our various mortgage subsidies and few are interested in making mortgage credit as easy as it once was here. Yet many countries maintain homeownership rates comparable or higher than that of the U.S. Many also have housing markets that are far more affordable than the U.S. Of course others are more expensive and have lower rates of homeownership.

By Michael Stubel

May 7, 2012

Throughout the week, the BPC Housing Commission highlights news items that address critical developments in housing policy. Any views expressed in the content posted on this forum do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission, its co-chairs or the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Renting Prosperity
By Daniel Gross
The Wall Street Journal

"In the American mind, renting has long symbolized striving—striving, that is, well short of achieving. But as we climb our way out of the Great Recession, it seems something has changed. Americans are getting over the idea of owning the American dream; increasingly, they're OK with renting it. Homeownership is on the decline, and home rentership is on the rise. But the trend isn't limited to the housing market. Across the board—for goods ranging from cars to books to clothes—Americans are increasingly acclimating to the idea of giving up the stability of being an owner for the flexibility of being a renter." Read more here.