While the housing industry has been a bright spot during the pandemic-spurred economic crisis, many housing experts warn that the policies passed to fuel recovery could see a widening in the gap in homeownership between Black and white Americans.
On September 16, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director, Dr. Mark Calabria, appeared before the full House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) in a hearing titled "Prioritizing Fannie's and Freddie's Capital over America's Homeowners and Renters? A Review of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic."
With the election tightening up between former Vice President Biden and President Trump, many financial analysts are wondering what could happen to Fannie and Freddie if Biden wins the presidency.
The recent proposal by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to increase GSE capital levels by more than five times could lead to an uptick in housing prices according to several mortgage industry members and the GSEs themselves.
As the pandemic continues to loom over the country, financial analysts are becoming more concerned about the CMBS market. “I don’t think anyone foresaw the devastation that COVID would wreak on commercial real estate and the CMBS market,” says Wells Fargo analyst and SFA CMBS Committee Co-Chair Lea Overby
SFA responded to FHFA’s Proposed Enterprise Capital Framework. The absence of clarity on the government’s role led SFA to recommend that implementation of the Proposed Rule be suspended.
On Monday, August 31, PIMCO submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) warning them that their enterprise capital proposal could threaten the housing finance market by forcing the sale of mortgage bonds and boosting interest rates.
As covered in HousingWire, SFA submitted a letter and executive summary to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Monday, August 31, regarding their proposed Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework.
On Tuesday, August 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that they would be delaying the implementation of a surcharge that was originally set for September 1 to December 1.
