April 2012

  • It’s All FHA’s Fault!

    While we're used to seeing articles that blame the homeowner for some part of the housing crisis, some of the articles that come over the transom give us pause for their angle. This gem from Reuters, under the banner of…

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    The Partners of Neighborhood Stabilization

    This post is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties. This post, and…

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    Capital Markets & Neighborhood Stabilization

    Mark Calabria, the director of financial services regulation at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, said recently that while "there are disagreements over the diagnosis of the [housing] problem, there are areas where people can come together and get a…

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    Take Me Home On (Sort Of) Country Roads

    The other day at a meeting I heard some residents complaining that Virginia's transportation department won’t pave their road. I had to feel for these folks, with their cars forever covered in dust from the dirt road, but I was…

  • The REO Pilot Program Should be an Opportunity for Fair Housing

    This post is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties. This post, and…

  • What Can FHFA Learn from the Banks’ Big Mistakes?

    This post, submitted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and…

  • From Burden to Boon: REOs Can Expand Housing Choice

    This post is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties. This post, and…

  • A Continued Pattern of Abuse

    This post is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties. This post, and…

  • Homeowners Can’t Afford Another Missed Opportunity

    This post is part of an ongoing series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties. This post, and…

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    Racial Discrimination by Banks Only Worsens the Foreclosure Crisis

    This is the first entry in a series based on the National Fair Housing Alliance report, "The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not," that examines ongoing discrimination in the marketing and maintenance of bank-owned foreclosed properties.  This post, and…

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    Rural Food Deserts

    I was introduced to the concept of the community garden on my street in Boston several years ago, on a site where a house had burned to the ground some time earlier. After it was cleared, the city claimed the…

  • FHFA’s DeMarco: Finally Coming Around on Principal Reduction?

    Speaking at an event at the Brookings Institution, Addressing the Weak Housing Market: Is Principal Reduction the Answer?, FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco, previously resitant to the idea of principal reductions, said there could be a savings of up to…

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    Deeper Thinking, Programming Needed for Weak Residential Markets

    Over the past couple weeks John Muller at the Greater Greater Washington blog has written some truly provocative pieces, including "Ward 8 development founders, may lose $4 million in grants" and "Abandominiums house Anacostia resentment," that identify important issues concerning…

  • CAP Report Argues Shared Appreciation Strategy for GSEs

    A new report from the Center for American Progress sets it sites on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it urges the FHFA to consider a principal reduction pilot program for the mortgage giants that uses shared appreciation modifications—where principal is…

  • Greening the Affordable Housing Business Model

    Enterprise Community Partners has formed the National Multifamily Energy Services Collaborative intended to "design and implement a full suite of green services to help older multifamily properties realize the significant health, economic and environmental benefits of green housing."  The collaborative,…

  • Are Things Really Looking Up in the Housing Market?

    Where are those "green shoots" in the housing market? With unemployement numbers slowly coming down, and with the economy making small, but sustained advances, we've also heard some good news related to the housing market. So, the market is improving,…

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    Revitalize Our Building Stock, Revitalize the Economy

    For the same reason that many admire the Flatiron building in New York City, I had a special affinity for one of the original Jos. A. Schlitz taverns in Milwaukee. Some will review the enclosed photos and wonder how one…