Subject: Housing
On this Veterans Day, when we remember those who have served, it is troubling to note that, although veterans make up around 9 percent of our population, they comprise 23 percent of our homeless population and fully a third of…
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With the rental population growing and the stock of affordable housing rentals in decline, “due to the demolition of older apartment buildings, the abandonment of foreclosed rental properties, and the conversion of rental units to sales condominiums,” John Kromer of…
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Given the pain so many states such as California and Florida are suffering because they have a glut of new, empty houses, and given that Massachusetts has weathered the recession better than a lot of those states, I was somewhat…
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Individual behavior plays a significant role in perpetuating residential racial and ethnic segregation. Illegal discrimination, including racial steering, and housing affordability both play a role, but neither can fully explain the severe segregation that plagues so many of America’s metropolitan…
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HUD Secy. Shaun Donovan announced today at the National Fair Housing Alliance’s 2009 conference that his department has requested $150 million for the Sustainable Communities Initiative to create a “geography of opportunity” for residents. The term, “geography of opportunity,” echoes…
There is much that is praiseworthy about the President Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. It is an intelligent plan that recognizes the seriousness of the housing crisis and the need to restore confidence in housing markets. First, the plan…
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For the first 38 minutes, it almost sounded like the Senators pitied him. The Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs spent nearly 40 minutes of the two-hour confirmation hearing warning President-elect Obama’s HUD secretary nominee Shaun Donovan that…
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Aging in place for some is the ultimate ideal. Elderly individuals, with their faculties in tact, and who are physically sound, stay in the houses where they raised their families, and remain in the communities where they have roots, paid…
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Two fair housing organizations are alleging that HUD’s Road Home program valued homes in white neighborhoods in New Orleans higher than similar homes in minority neighborhoods. From yesterday’s press release: Civil rights and fair housing groups filed a federal lawsuit…
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First the gas tax holiday, then the Columbus Day holiday, now again with the foreclosure holiday. Everyone should be wary of “holidays” in taxation or government function largely because it (if not directly) gives the perception of putting off a…
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A simple, yet likely powerful, explanation has now been offered for the subprime mortgage-lending and foreclosure problems that have fed the nation’s gravest economic crisis since the Depression. Its simplicity makes one wonder why it took so long to surface:…
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Amid all of the gloom and doom, perhaps a few positive headlines will help to boost the mood of the nation’s sagging economy. If anything, the Bush-Paulson plan to create a $700 billion Wall Street rescue package “sending the biggest…
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Here’s the problem with the nation’s troubled financial system in a nutshell: Americans don’t have enough money to pay their mortgages. President Bush’s plan to bail-out the banks by having the US government buy troubled mortgage-backed securities is the wrong…
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Following the United States Treasury Department’s move this week to take control of mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a handful of U.S. senators Thursday showed support for a moratorium on foreclosures for loans within the two companies’ portfolios.…
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The markets responded well on Monday following Sunday’s announcement of Treasury’s takeover of mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, signaling some optimism about the long-troubled agencies. But then Tuesday the Dow quickly lost most of those gains amid resurgent…
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Under ordinary circumstances, Sept. 1—Labor Day—would be a day of celebration and pride. Not only does it commemorate the sacrifice of working families, but, quite fittingly, it’s the date on which a new landmark responsible lending law will go into…
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A call to eliminate HUD will easily attract many right-wing politicos, and apparently others as well—and it is appealing. That said, while all of us can point to various examples of incompetence, ineffeciency, and corruption at HUD, if the agency…
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The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008: approved by the Senate on Saturday should appropriately be called the “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Rescue Bill” because that is what the bill focuses on. It allows the Treasury…
National Housing Institute
