President Obama Outlines Housing Agenda – August 8, 2013

President Obama gave a speech on Monday, August 6, in Phoenix outlining his housing policy agenda. The speech was general, but a White House fact sheet released at the same time provides more detail.  The speech focused primarily on homeownership policies and on the future role of government in housing finance.  The president urged Congress to pass legislation to improve access to refinancing, called for regulatory changes to improve access to mortgage credit by qualified buyers, called for additional investment in affordable housing and outlined principles for a new housing finance system, including preservation of the 30 year, fixed mortgage.  In the fact sheet, the President also called for new aid to communities hard hit by foreclosures, immigration reform to support housing demand, continued support for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and New Markets Tax Credit, and adequate financing for HUD programs.  He also called for winding down and replacing the GSEs with a new system that, among other things, ensures continued access to financing for multifamily rental housing and first-time and underserved homebuyers.  Many national housing organizations issued responses to the speech, including the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Enterprise Community Partners, the National Housing Conference, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and LISC.