REFinBlog

Editor: David Reiss
Cornell Law School

October 3, 2017

Watt’s Happening with Fannie and Freddie?

By David Reiss

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Watt testified before the House Committee on Financial Services today and gave a good overview of the decade-long conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie.  He also gave some sense of the urgency of coming up with … Continue reading

September 27, 2017

Fannie, Freddie and Climate Change

By David Reiss

The Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute issued its September 2017 Housing Finance At A Glance Chartbook. The introduction asks what the recent hurricanes tell us about GSE credit risk transfer. But it also has broader implications regarding … Continue reading

June 26, 2017

FHFA’s Asks from Congress

By David Reiss

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its 2016 report to Congress. Of particular note are its legislative recommendations. The first is one that I and every other housing policy analyst has been saying for years. The second two are very … Continue reading

June 15, 2017

Time Is Ripe For GSE Reform

By David Reiss

Banker and Tradesman quoted me in Time Is Ripe For GSE Reform (behind a paywall). It opens, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Melvin L. Watt told the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs last month that “Congress … Continue reading

June 8, 2017

Securitizing Single-Family Rentals

By David Reiss

Laurie Goodman and Karan Kaul of the Urban Institute’ Housing Finance Policy Center have issued a a paper on GSE Financing of Single-Family Rentals. They write, Fannie Mae recently completed the first government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) securitization of single-family rental (SFR) properties … Continue reading

June 7, 2017

Framing Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform

By David Reiss

The Bipartisan Policy Center has issued A Framework for Improving Access and Affordability in a Reformed Housing Finance System. The brief was written by Michael Stegman who had served as the Obama Administration’s top advisor on housing policy. It opens, With policymakers … Continue reading