NAR's Vision for Housing Finance Reform

The Future of Housing Finance Reform

NAR developed a vision for the secondary mortgage market that promotes a reliable and affordable source of mortgage capital for American consumers.

After the financial crisis in the American housing market left Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Government Sponsored Enterprises or GSEs) in financial trouble, the Federal Housing Finance Agency moved to place the GSEs into conservatorship. Today, more than a decade later, the financial crisis is long over, but the GSEs remain in conservatorship.

The National Association of REALTORS®, in collaboration with Susan Wachter, the Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Richard Cooperstein, head of Risk Management at Andrew Davison and Company, Inc, has developed a vision for the secondary mortgage market that will promote a reliable and affordable source of mortgage capital for American consumers.

The vision includes:

  • Leveraging reforms and innovations implemented since the crisis while completing the process with instrumental updates for a fully functioning liquid market.
  • Promoting competition in the secondary market through proven structures to correct market failures.
  • Preserving the 30-year fixed rate mortgage and focusing the mission on liquid secondary markets for Middle America and underserved borrowers.
  • Minimizing the cost to consumers in normal and stress periods while maximizing access for creditworthy borrowers.
  • Protecting taxpayers by using private capital.
  • Maintaining simplicity in the transition while avoiding market disruptions.

WEBINAR – The Future of the GSES: Readying Fannie and Freddie for the Next Chapter: Watch the recorded webinar for a discussion of the latest regulatory actions, potential legislative moves, and how the industry is coalescing around a vision for housing finance reform.

VIDEONAR Vision for the GSEs: The history of the GSEs' role in housing finance, the 2008 foreclosure crisis, and NAR’s vision for reform to prevent future crisis and protect homebuyers' access to the 30-year, fixed-rate home mortgage.

TALKING POINTSHousing Finance Reform: Check out NAR's Housing Finance Reform talking points for a history of the GSEs, what the next steps are, and NAR's vision for reforming the GSEs.

Topic: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

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Additional Resources: NAR's Vision for Housing Finance Reform

Webinar: The Future of the GSEs

Watch the recorded NAR webcast showcasing new research on its proposal to transition Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into private market utilities.