EconomyCommentary
Regulation Is Holding Back a Real Housing Recovery
Seven years after its collapse, the U.S. housing market still has not experienced a real recovery. The heavy-handed and misguided federal policy that was supposed… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Proposed Legislation Would Increase Bureaucratic Interference in Housing Market
The Senate may move forward this week on an energy bill that would result in more government meddling and wasting taxpayer dollars on activities better… Read More
EconomyCommentary
How the Government Held Back a Real Housing Market Recovery in 2015
Seven years after the housing market collapse, the housing market continued a lopsided recovery in 2015. Overall, the housing market was stalled by a combination… Read More
EconomyNews
Government Agency Gave $10 Million Loan Guarantee to Renovate Apartments Valued at $4 Million
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Department of Housing and Urban Development provided a $9.4-million loan guarantee to renovate an apartment complex here eight months after the owner… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Thanks to Federal Assistance, Low-Income Americans Live in Luxury Apartments in Chicago
The U.S. inspector general estimates that 25,226 households occupying public housing units exceed the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD)’s 2014 eligibility income limits. In… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Why the Government Can’t Resist the ‘Affordable’ Housing Game
Next month will mark seven years of federal government conservatorship of the two government-sponsored mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To cap off this… Read More
EconomyCommentary
The Government Is Definitely Back in the ‘Affordable Housing’ Game
More than six years out from a government-driven housing bubble, the chief regulator at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mel Watt, and the Department of… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Don’t Re-Inflate the Housing Bubble
Revealing just how difficult it is for politicians to learn from even recent history, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Julian Castro, is… Read More
EconomyAnalysis
Once Again, the Government Is Pushing ‘Affordable’ Home Loans—at Taxpayers’ Risk
The Federal Housing Administration, a primary government mortgage insurance guarantee agency, is leading a renewed push for government-insured “affordable” home loans. In an attempt to… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Government Agency Wants to Curb Penalizing Banks to Increase Lower Quality Mortgages
A government agency wants to roll back penalties on banks that make errors when providing mortgages backed by government. If a loan is backed by… Read More
EconomyNews
Senate Housing Finance Bill Decried as ‘Residential Obamacare’
NASHVILLE — U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is pushing for legislation to create a federal entity to regulate the housing market, six years after the… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Surprise! Political Pundits Dismiss Conservative Policy Agenda
There never has been a shortage of vapid policy analysis in Washington, and the current generation of pundits and reporters is no exception. Take the… Read More
EconomyAnalysis
The Best Housing Program in America in 15 Seconds
Get government out of the housing market – that’s the message Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has for the housing industry. According to Hensarling, government intervention… Read More
EconomyNews
Liberals, Conservatives Unite to Stall Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Overhaul
An unusual mix of political leaders on the left and right dealt a major blow to a housing finance bill yesterday, leaving its prospects for… Read More
EconomyNews
Housing Finance Bill Wins Committee Approval, but Faces Uncertain Future
Several key Democrats refused to support a housing finance bill in a Senate committee today, leaving its prospects for passage unlikely this year. The measure… Read More
EconomyNews
Congress Is Debating the Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Today. What Does That Mean for Taxpayers?
The Senate Banking Committee meets today at 10 a.m. to consider a housing finance bill that eliminates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but leaves taxpayers… Read More
Caution: Senators at Work
Obamacare is wreaking havoc on the economy; entitlement spending is swallowing the federal budget; America’s military readiness is in shambles; and a handful of senators… Read More
Don’t Be Fooled: Johnson-Crapo Bill Isn’t Significant Housing Reform
In an effort to reform the nation’s housing finance system, Senate Banking Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) will hold a… Read More
Getting Your Neighbor’s Mortgage Off Your Lawn
Did you know you are probably responsible for your neighbors’ mortgage payments? What? Heritage expert Norbert Michel explained: Nearly all new residential mortgages are currently… Read More
Housing Finance: Fannie–Freddie 2.0
Josh Rosner, who in Reckless Endangerment (2011) exposed the cronyism of Fannie Mae and warned of a meltdown of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as far… Read More
How to Avoid Another Housing Crisis, Explained in Under a Minute
Should the government have a role in the housing market? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cost taxpayers billions of dollars, even in good economic times,… Read More
Johnson–Crapo Housing Finance Reform Misguided
Senators Tim Johnson (D–SD) and Mike Crapo (R–ID) recently released their new housing finance reform bill. As expected, the new bill makes the bad features… Read More
One Problem We Still Haven’t Fixed
You may not have heard much about the housing market lately…but that isn’t because it’s safe. Leaders in Washington were in denial about Fannie Mae… Read More
How to Avoid Another Housing Crisis
What’s one thing Congress could do to help the economy and American homeowners? Check out our infographic. Read the Morning Bell and more en español… Read More
How to Hide Billions in Taxpayer Money and Get Away With It
Spine-tingling TV shows and movies are always featuring spy capers that are “off-book.” Their existence is on a need-to-know basis, and sure, they’re being funded,… Read More
Heritage Agrees With Schumer on Housing Finance Reform
The whole point of a free-enterprise system is to allow both private gains and losses so that markets don’t end up with shortages and surpluses. Subsidization leads to things like inflated home prices, and inflated markets eventually crash, wreaking havoc on the way down.
HAMP: Focusing on Mortgage Relief Programs Misses the Big Picture
The Washington Post has an article detailing the ups and downs of the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Heritage previously pointed out several… Read More
Congress to Mega Banks: It Was All Your Fault—Pay No Attention to the GSEs
Last week, Chairman Dave Camp (R–MI) outlined a new reform proposal that included a punitive tax on some of the largest banks in the U.S…. Read More
Pawlenty Joins the Fight to End Fannie and Freddie
Two Financial Services Roundtable executives, former Governor Tim Pawlenty (R–MN) and former Navy Secretary John Dalton, have penned an article that highlights the key points… Read More
How to Free the Housing Market from Government—and Lower Your Mortgage Payments
President Obama said something truly great in his State of the Union Address this year. He told Congress: [S]ince the most important investment many families… Read More
