Despite the growing debate over the future of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration's single-family mortgage insurance program, two of the nation’s leading housing finance policy experts claim there is no meaningful Congressional action in sight. Per the National Association of Realtors:
Realtors® who attended a legislative and political forum at the 2013 Realtors Conference and Expo weighed the divergent perspectives of Peter Wallison, former general counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department under President Reagan, and David Min, former Senate Banking Committee counsel to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Wallison and Min traded opinions about the potential impact of federal policy decisions on the role, mission, and purpose of the government-sponsored enterprises.
“The government is the principle enemy of the housing finance market,” said Wallison. He said that the key to bringing stability to the housing finance market is strong underwriting standards, not a government guarantee. “Whenever government agencies are guaranteeing mortgages, there will always be the urge to extend the benefit as broadly as possible, which means that the standards for mortgages are degraded substantially.”
