Sentinel Real Estate Professionals
GSE Reform
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that became dominant factors in housing finance during the 1990s. Their irresponsible actions during the most recent financial crisis helped fuel the housing boom and its subsequent collapse. Many low-income and first time home buyers lost their homes, while Fannie and Freddie were bailed out by U.S. taxpayers.
Briefs
Promoting Stability in Housing Markets: Ending Fannie & Freddie
Background: The Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)…
Read moreBlog posts
EVENT: Eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without legislation – AEI
Tuesday, February 27, 2018 | 9:00 am - 11:30 am AEI, Auditorium 1789 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20036 Event Summary On Tuesday morning at…
The Fatal Conceit of the Government Mortgage Complex
By Norbert J. Michel, Director, Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation. Debate over housing finance reform has raged for ten years. A favorite…
A duopsony built around rent-seeking
By Edward J. Pinto, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and Norbert Michel, Director, Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation. A recent Senate Banking Committee hearing explored “The Status…
Federal Taxpayers Should Not Cover Guarantees in Any Future Mortgage-Backed Securities Market
By John Ligon, Senior Policy Analyst and Research Manager, Center for Data Analysis, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity at The Heritage Foundation. After nearly a…
The FHFA and Treasury Should Not Allow Fannie and Freddie to Recapitalize
By John L. Ligon, Senior Policy Analyst and Research Manager in the Center for Data Analysis, of the Institute for Economic Freedom, at The Heritage…
This Senate Effort Could Lead to Another Housing Bubble
By John Ligon, Senior Policy Analyst and Research Manager and Norbert Michel, Heritage Foundation Financial Regulations Expert The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a…
President Trump Should Push the Senate on GSE Reform
By Norbert Michel, Heritage Foundation Financial Regulations Expert The House Financial Services Committee has just passed a major financial regulatory reform bill, the Financial CHOICE Act. …
Real Estate Professional Legislative Strategy Call 04/05/17
Yesterday conservatives working in the real estate industry all came together for our monthly Legislative Strategy Call. During the call we heard from John Ligon - Heritage Foundation…
It’s Time For The Fed To Shrink Its Balance Sheet
By Norbert Michel, Heritage Foundation Financial Regulations Expert A new debate is heating up over whether the Federal Reserve should continue holding on to all…
Another Reason to Dump Fannie Mae
Earlier this year Fannie Mae took an unprecedented step in its involvement in the housing market through a $1 billion dollar deal with Invitation Homes,…
Real Estate Professional Legislative Strategy Call 02/08/17
Yesterday, conservatives working in the real estate industry all came together for a our monthly Legislative Strategy Call. During the call we discussed CFPB abuse of auto-lenders,…
Fannie Mae Spends $24 Million On New Office Space
Last week, Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) asking them for a review of excessive spending by Fannie Mae on…
FHFA Issues Final Rule Expanding Fannie and Freddie’s Role in Underserved Markets
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a final rule on Tuesday creating a “duty to serve” for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to serve…
Government Intervention in Housing Has Always Been Bad. Here’s Why Today Is No Different.
By Claudia Sladick & Norbert Michel, the Heritage Foundation Ever since the federal government embedded itself into the U.S. housing market, it has caused problems…
Housing Finance Policy Looms as the Elephant in the President Trump’s Oval Office
By Norbert Michel, Heritage Foundation Financial Regulations Expert Washington liberals have tried to convince the public that the housing finance policies started by the Clinton…
Down Payments 50 Percent Lower Today than in 1989
According to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 88 percent of recent home buyers financed their home. Of this group,…
6 Million Americans have Underwater Mortgage
Guest Blog: Gloria Taylor A recent CNBC report notes that nearly 6 million Americans owe more on their mortgages than their home is actually worth.…
Fannie and Freddie May Need Another Taxpayer Bailout
According to the latest Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stress test, these Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) giants could need a taxpayer bailout of as much…
Why mortgage principal forgiveness policy is a bad idea
By John L. Ligon, Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst There’s nothing like a “good crisis” to give the federal government an opening to spread its…
Fannie Mae Expands Low-Down-Payment Program
Fannie Mae recently made changes to their low-down-payment program in order to make it even easier to get a 3% down mortgage. The program, called…
Senators Push Back Against FHFA Efforts to Release Fannie and Freddie from Conservatorship
A bipartisan group of Senators recently sent a letter urging Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt to wait on “comprehensive reform” from Congress…
FHA Announces New Changes to Troubled-Loan Program
Last week, under direction from the Obama administration, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will now force investors to prioritize reducing the principal amount borrowers owe…
Understanding GSEs and the 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped contribute to an unsustainable increase in homeownership in the 2000s that led to the housing bubble and its subsequent…
Real Estate Industry Groups Call on Congress to Enact GSE Reform
Last week, a coalition of real estate related groups including the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders, the…
Average Size of Purchase Loan Application at Record High
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the increase in average loan sizes for purchased mortgage applications is outpacing the recovery in housing prices. The…
Homeownership Rate Falls Again
According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. homeownership rate fell a seasonally adjusted 63.6% in the first quarter of 2016, the third lowest figure recorded…
Existing Home Sales Tumble, Signs Point to Drop in Housing Demand
Existing home sales nationwide dropped by 7.1 percent from January to February as total units sold went from 5.47 million units to 5.08 million. The…
Housing prices increase despite lack of demand
Home prices continued to climb in the final three months of 2015 despite cooling demand and declining home sales, according to the most recent quarterly…
Reasons to be concerned with unanimously passed Condo Bill
In early February, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3700, “Housing Opportunities through Modernization Act.” Proponents of the bill claim that it “updates” and “streamlines”…