On December 9, 2014, the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development held a hearing entitled, “Inequality, Opportunity, and the Housing Market.” Mabel Guzman, 2014 NAR Conventional Financing and Policy Committee chairwoman and broker for @properties in Chicago, IL, testified on behalf of NAR. In her testimony, Ms. Guzman focused on ongoing challenges and disparities in the housing market and housing finance system. Specifically, Ms. Guzman covered 6 main issues, which include: (1) the national economy is impacting the supply of both credit and housing inventory; (2) high guarantee fees and loan level pricing adjustments charged by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) are hurting consumers; (3) excessive Federal Housing Authority (FHA) premiums are negatively impacting housing; (4) FHA and GSE condominium restrictions are preventing homeownership opportunities; (5) housing policies add to lending concerns; and (6) foreclosures and short sales remain problematic for thousands of American families.
Advertisement