Housing

One bright spot in the economic data recently has been housing. Bloomberg reports, however, that "housing starts in the U.S.

Immigration reform resulting in net population growth and an increase in employment-based immigration would likely have wide-reaching economic benefits, and would provide a boost to the housing sector. Understanding how increased immigration benefits housing is quite straightforward; increased population growth leads to a greater demand for housing that would aid a still recovering residential construction industry.

WASHINGTON – The American Action Forum (@AAF) and Progressive Policy Institute (@PPI) today released a joint paper outlining common-sense guidelines to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reform. Jason Gold, PPI Senior Fellow and Director of the “Rebuilding Middle Class Wealth” project, and Andrew Winkler, AAF’s Director of Housing Policy, demonstrate that as the debate in Congress evolves over the future of FHAs, there is common ground for liberals and conservatives to build on.

Now more than six years after the bust of the housing bubble, you might be surprised to find out that some in Washington plan yet another push to expand refinancing for underwater borrowers.

Construction spending in November fell 0.3 percent from October, pushed downward by declines in nonresidential spending, according to a Census report released Wednesday. While spending growth on residential construction slowed, overall spending was pushed down not by housing but by a $3.4 billion decline in nonresidential construction spending.

It is not yet certain whether the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will require an infusion of cash from the Treasury for the first time in the agency’s history.  But its actuarial report last month made abundantly clear that taxpayers are at risk. The economic value of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) has slipped into the red zone. The FHA has sustained heavy losses from its 2007-2009 books of business and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) defaults.

By: Satya Thallam & Anthony B. Sanders

Overview 

Both single and multifamily residential construction spending jumped in October, the Census Bureau reported today. Private residential construction spending overall was 20.8 percent higher in October than it was at the same time last year, and up 3 percent from September.

ORLANDO -- The American Action Forum today released a new paper -- Boom, Bust, and Beyond: A Look at Housing Market Data in Florida -- in conjunction with our event -- The U.S. Housing Recovery: Lessons from Florida.

WASHINGTON – The American Action Forum today released a new study calculating the impact new housing regulations are having on lending, sales, and starts as well as the greater economy. The study finds that the Dodd-Frank regulations and Basel III capital standards would not only hinder qualified borrowers from access to loans, but also result in 20 percent fewer loans than otherwise would be made.