Answer to Question #248207 in Macroeconomics for Snams

Question

suppose that you are working in the department of human settlements and your minister is actively considering equity and finance options to address housing problems. explain in the form of a briefing note to the minister and using your knowledge of economics and relevant illustrations what the equity issues in the sector are and what are the 'pros' and 'cons' of each of the financing approaches to housing (25 marks)

Answer 1

Since President Biden took office, the economy has increased by about 4 million people, averaging over 830,000 new jobs every three months. In the first half of 2018, the economy grew at its strongest rate in over 40 years.

This economic development has benefited millions of homeowners and renters in the United States. The single-family mortgage delinquency rate fell to under 5% in the second quarter of 2021, down from a pandemic high of over 8%. The ratio of renter households in arrears has decreased from 19.4 percent to 15.4 percent since January.

We still have work to do, even while the Administration is doing everything it can to assist families who are experiencing homelessness as a result of the pandemic's economic impact. We must do more than rebuild, according to President Biden and Vice President Harris. We must do a better job rebuilding.

We can't wait to get started, so President Obama is working with Congress to pass the Build Back Better Agenda, which includes record investments in new home building and housing rehabilitation. The significant and long-standing supply-demand mismatch makes it difficult to buy a property and raises rent for both tenants and homeowners. Higher housing costs offset other investments that families can and should make, such as education.

Large investors have stepped up their purchases of real estate, notably single-family homes in urban and suburban areas. In the second quarter of 2021, investors purchased one out of every six properties, and one out of every four in other cities. Over 35 percent of investor acquisitions are often done by those who own ten or more houses. Large investor acquisitions not only accelerate the move of neighborhoods from homeownership to rental, but they also drive up housing prices for lower-cost properties, making financing difficult for first-time and first-generation homebuyers. However, to recuperate higher purchase costs, investors will likely demand higher rents, limiting the impact of these purchases on lower-cost rental markets.

President Biden is committed to using all available government measures to boost the availability of affordable housing and make it available to low-income families rather than wealthy investors. That is why, over the next three years, the Obama Administration will build, manage, and sell around 100,000 additional affordable homes for homeowners and renters, with a concentration on the lower and middle market.

Federal agencies will, in particular:

Relaunch the partnership between the Department of Treasury's (Treasury) Federal Financing Bank and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Risk Sharing Program to enable eligible state housing finance agencies (HFAs) to provide low-cost capital for affordable housing development; raise the equity cap for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHT) at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises).

Expand Freddie Mac financing to increase the supply of prefabricated housing and 2-4 unit complexes. These actions, together with current regulations from Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), will enable more Americans to buy houses and boost the availability of rental units across the country.

Prioritize home ownership and limit the sale of certain FHA-insured and HUD-owned properties to large investors, as well as expanding and creating exclusivity periods in which only governmental entities, owner-occupants, and qualified non-profit organizations can bid on certain FHA-insured and government-owned properties.

Work with state and local governments to increase housing supply through using current federal funds to stimulate local action, looking into federal levers to assist states and local governments in reducing exclusionary zoning, and holding learning and listening sessions with local officials.