Wednesday’s Academic Roundup

On the Value of Shared Bike Systems in Urban Environments: Evidence from the Real Estate Markets, Konstantinos Pelechrinis, Marios Kokkodis & Theodoros Lappas.
Planning an Affordable City, David Schleicher & Roderick M. Hills, Jr., Iowa Law Review, Vol. 101, pp. 91–136, 2015.
Modifying Mortgage Discrimination in Consumer Bankruptcy, Abbye Atkinson, Arizona Law Review, Vol. 57, 2015.
Trends in Private Land Conservation: Increasing Complexity, Shifting Conservation Purposes and Allowable Private Land Uses, Jessica Owley & Adena R. Rissman, Land Use Policy 51, 76–84 (2016 Forthcoming).
Asymmetric Information and Subprime Mortgage Default, Xudong An, A. Quang Do, Timothy J. Riddiough & Vincent W. Yao.
Recent Developments in Land Use Ethics, Patricia Salkin, 46 Urb. La. 815 (Fall 2014).

Thursday’s Advocacy & Think Tank Round-Up

Capital New York reports another study which finds that non-whites are at a disadvantage when it comes to securing a home loan, this is more pronounced in the conventional loan market (less so for FHA loans). Includes an interactive chart which breaks down the stats by borough.
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Annual State of the Nation’s Housing 2015 reveals historic lows in homeownership rates, and a corresponding “rental boom,” a shortage in supply for single family dwellings, and an increasingly severe rental affordability problem.
National Association of Realtors’ release of Existing Home Sales statistics for May reveal a strong rebound over April, in fact sales are strongest they have been in 6 years, with first time homebuyers making up the biggest portion of buyers.
NYU Furman Center’s new working paper – Utility Allowances in Federally Subsidized Multifamily Housing – advocates four policy changes which would help HUD increase energy efficiency in the properties it subsidizes. These include, 1. Incentivizing owners to switch to individually metered units; 2. Incentivizing owners to make energy saving upgrades; 3. Provision of utility allowances that are affordable but make recipients bear the cost of consumption; 4. Provide information about relative utility costs to increase tenant purchasing power.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance to “remind lenders of their obligations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and it’s implementing Regulation B, to provide non-discriminatory access to credit for mortgage applicants using income from the section 8 housing choice voucher program.”
A bipartisan House Bill was recently introduced to provide a temporary safe harbor for from the enforcement of integrated disclosure requirements under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Truth in Lending Act until January 2016 for those seeking to comply in good faith – this safe harbor would allow lenders to implement the new rules.