President Trump again vowed to “save our suburbs” from the “crime and chaos in Democrat run cities,” this time in a joint op-ed with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson published in the Wall Street Journal. “We won’t allow this to happen,” Trump and Carson wrote. “That’s why we stopped the last administration’s radical social-engineering project that would have transformed the suburbs from the top down. We reversed an Obama-Biden regulation that would have empowered the Department of Housing and Urban Development to abolish single-family zoning, compel the construction of high-density “stack and pack” apartment buildings in residential neighborhoods, and forcibly transform neighborhoods across America so they look and feel the way far-left ideologues and technocratic bureaucrats think they should.”…
A coalition of housing, banking and public interest groups on Thursday strongly condemned the Federal Housing Finance Agency for implementing an “adverse market fee” on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage refinances. The fee is designed to protect Fannie and Freddie from risk associated with the pandemic. It charges 0.5 percent of the loan amount to the borrower, or nearly $1,500 on the typical mortgage in the United States. The American Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and 17 other organizations called the fee an “ill-timed, misguided” surprise. “Wednesday night’s surprise announcement by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) conflicts with the Administration’s recent executive actions urging federal agencies to take all measures within their authority…
As President Trump again warned of the dangers of affordable housing to the suburbs, the New Jersey attorney general challenged the Trump Administration to provide evidence that affordable housing leads to increased crime in communities. Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal filed two Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the administration to provide “any factual information it has to support the President’s recent inflammatory and unfounded claims that the presence of affordable housing in communities leads to increased crime.” “Divisive appeals to prejudice with unfounded statements blaming desegregation for crime are detached from the reality here in New Jersey and across the country,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. “As a prosecutor and now as New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer,…
President Trump on Wednesday again warned about low-income housing “invading” suburban neighborhoods if Joe Biden is elected president, repeating a theme he has brought up in recent weeks. The president tweeted: “The “suburban housewife” will be voting for me. They want safety & are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood. Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge! @foxandfriends @MariaBartiromo” The “suburban housewife” will be voting for me. They want safety & are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood. Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge! @foxandfriends @MariaBartiromo— Donald…
President Trump issued an executive order over the weekend directing various federal agencies to identify ways to prevent evictions and foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic – though the order itself did not provide those protections. “My Administration, to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, will take all lawful measures to prevent residential evictions and foreclosures resulting from financial hardships caused by COVID-19,” Trump wrote in the order. Specifically, the order calls for the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to consider whether implementing a ban on evictions for failure to pay rent is “reasonably necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 from one State or…
Multifamily property owners whose mortgages are backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae must inform tenants in writing about rent and eviction protections if they enter into a new or modified forbearance agreement, The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday. While in forbearance due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, property owners must agree not to evict tenants solely for not paying rent. “Landlords in forbearance must notify their tenants that they cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent due to the pandemic,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said. “If tenants are able to pay their rent, they should continue to do so.” Other protections previously announced include: Giving tenants at least a 30-day notice to vacate;Not charging tenants…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it is extending a policy that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase some single-family mortgages in forbearance in an attempt to support the liquidity of mortgage lenders during the coronavirus pandemic. Originally enacted in April, the policy is designed to protect borrowers seeking mortgage forbearance shortly after closing on loans – and before the lender could deliver the loan to Fannie or Freddie. Prior to the change, loans in forbearance were ineligible to be sold under Fannie and Freddie requirements, placing the borrower and the lender in jeopardy. “Extending the Enterprises’ ability to purchase these previously ineligible loans will help provide liquidity to mortgage markets. That said, to make homeownership sustainable, lenders…
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will continue to load up on mortgage-back securities to ensure credit is available to businesses and individuals to keep the economy afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. “We have been purchasing sizable quantities of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities in order to support orderly conditions in the markets, which are vital to the flow of credit in the economy,” Chairman Jerome Powell said. “To sustain smooth market functioning and foster the effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions, we will continue to increase our holdings of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities at least at the current pace. These purchases are also fostering more accommodative financial conditions.” Powell emphasized the need to keep…
President Trump said Wednesday that his recent action to rescind an Obama-era housing rule will keep low-income housing out of the suburbs. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood,” Trump Tweeted, follow it up with: “Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!” …Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020 Last week, Trump rescinded President Obama’s…
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dana Wade as the commissioner of the Federal Housing Agency by a 57-40 vote. All votes against the nomination came from Democrats, with Democratic Sens. Doug Jones (Arkansas), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Chris Murphy (Connecticut), and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) joining Republicans to vote to confirm. “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity to hit the ground running during this critical time for our nation’s housing markets,” Commissioner Wade said. Wade previously served as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing from July 2017 to June 2018, where she oversaw over 2,400 employees and implemented enhanced risk management and monitoring of FHA’s $1.3 trillion portfolio. Wade also served as a Program Associate Director for…
