Experts Acknowledge Need for Government Role in Reinventing Mortgage Finance System
September 8, 2011
Experts agree that the federal government plays too big a role in the housing market, but panelists at a Federal Reserve conference last week said there is little consensus on how to fix it. FHA is not our silver bullet, observed Janis Bowdler, a director at the National Council of La Raza. Surely, its stepping in while we are in a tight credit market. But its no long-term solution. One problem with FHA is that lenders arent required to offer it, which means entire communities are left credit-starved, Bowdler said. This leaves them in the same vulnerable position to predatory lenders that they were in five or six or 10 years ago, she...