Last week marked the fourth anniversary of the federal government’s takeover of the government-sponsored entities (GSEs) …
housing policy
Should Eminent Domain Be Used to Save Underwater Homes?
The one glimmer of hope in a otherwise disappointing recovery is the recent bottoming out of the housing market. While no one expects home prices to start skyrocketing again anytime soon, it appears that the steady descent they …
Building a Better Bailout: Can Fannie and Freddie Help American Homeowners?
Since the financial crisis, American taxpayers have collectively made all sorts of investments that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. We bought stakes in the auto and insurance industries and, perhaps most significantly, …
The Not-So-Bright Spot in the Gloomy Housing Report
No more need to wait for the double dip in housing. It appears to be here. Earlier today, the National Association of Realtors announced housing market figures for July and the numbers were not nice indeed. Sales of existing homes fell 27% in July from the month before. July was the slowest pace for single family house sales since May of …
House Prices Down, Property Taxes . . .Up?
One of the worries as house prices began their now three-year plunge back in 2007 was the affect of falling values would have on budgets of cities and other local governments, which rely heavily on property taxes. Well it turns out, property tax revenue is far more resilient than people thought.
The strength of the property tax was the
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How to fix mortgage finance? You decide!
It’s a tough nut to crack: how should the U.S. reconfigure its housing finance system, including lumbering giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the wake of the greatest housing-finance meltdown since the Great Depression? In fact, it’s so difficult a question to answer that the Obama Administration is turning for advice to… well, you.
