{ "id": "R44304", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44304", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 597089, "date": "2017-02-21", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T17:03:40.064061", "title": "Housing Issues in the 114th Congress", "summary": "Housing and residential mortgage markets in the United States are continuing to recover from several years of turmoil that began in 2007-2008, though the recovery has been uneven across the country. Nationally, home prices have been consistently increasing since 2012. Negative equity and mortgage foreclosure rates have been steadily decreasing, though both remain elevated. Home sales have begun to increase, with sales of existing homes approaching levels that were common in the early 2000s, though sales of new homes and housing starts remain relatively low.\nMortgage originations have also remained relatively low despite ongoing low interest rates, leading many to argue that it is too difficult for prospective homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage. Some believe that this is because mortgage regulations put in place in recent years are restricting access to mortgages for creditworthy homebuyers, while others hold that these rules provide important consumer protections and suggest that other factors are limiting mortgage access. About two-thirds of new mortgages continue to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with the remaining mortgages mostly being held on bank balance sheets. \nIn the rental housing market, vacancy rates have continued to decline and rents have continued to increase as more households become renters. Although the supply of rental housing has also increased, it has generally not kept pace with the increasing demand. Rising rents have contributed to housing affordability problems, which are especially pronounced for low-income renters. \nThe 114th Congress considered a number of housing-related issues against this backdrop. Some of these issues were related to housing for low-income individuals and families, including appropriations for housing programs in a limited funding environment, proposed reforms to certain rental assistance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), debate over funding for two affordable housing funds (the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund), and the possible reauthorization of the main program that provides housing assistance to Native Americans. Congress also took the occasion of HUD\u2019s 50th anniversary to reflect on the department\u2019s role through hearings and other actions. \nCongress also deliberated on certain housing finance-related issues, including possible targeted changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, oversight of mortgage-related rulemakings, and issues related to the future and financial health of FHA. \nTwo fair housing issues were also active in the 114th Congress. HUD recently released a new rule updating certain HUD grantees\u2019 responsibilities to \u201caffirmatively further\u201d fair housing. Separately, the Supreme Court issued a decision affirming that disparate impact claims are allowable under the Fair Housing Act. Congress expressed interest in both of these developments. \nAs in recent years, the 114th Congress considered several housing-related tax provisions as part of a broader tax extenders bill. 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Nationally, home prices have been consistently increasing since 2012. Negative equity and mortgage foreclosure rates have been steadily decreasing, though both remain elevated. Home sales have begun to increase, with sales of existing homes approaching levels that were common in the early 2000s, though sales of new homes and housing starts remain relatively low.\nMortgage originations have also remained relatively low despite ongoing low interest rates, leading many to argue that it is too difficult for prospective homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage. Some believe that this is because mortgage regulations put in place in recent years are restricting access to mortgages for creditworthy homebuyers, while others hold that these rules provide important consumer protections and suggest that other factors are limiting mortgage access. About two-thirds of new mortgages continue to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with the remaining mortgages mostly being held on bank balance sheets. \nIn the rental housing market, vacancy rates have continued to decline and rents have continued to increase as more households become renters. Although the supply of rental housing has also increased, it has generally not kept pace with the increasing demand. Rising rents have contributed to housing affordability problems, which are especially pronounced for low-income renters. \nThe 114th Congress has been considering a number of housing-related issues against this backdrop. Some of these issues are related to housing for low-income individuals and families, including appropriations for housing programs in a limited funding environment, proposed reforms to certain rental assistance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), debate over funding for two affordable housing funds (the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund), and the possible reauthorization of the main program that provides housing assistance to Native Americans. Congress has also taken the occasion of HUD\u2019s 50th anniversary to reflect on the department\u2019s role through hearings and other actions. \nCongress has also been deliberating on certain housing finance-related issues, including possible targeted changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, oversight of mortgage-related rulemakings, and issues related to the future and financial health of FHA. \nTwo fair housing issues have also been active in the 114th Congress. HUD recently released a new rule updating certain HUD grantees\u2019 responsibilities to \u201caffirmatively further\u201d fair housing. Separately, the Supreme Court issued a decision affirming that disparate impact claims are allowable under the Fair Housing Act. Congress has expressed interest in both of these developments. \nAs in recent years, the 114th Congress has considered several housing-related tax provisions as part of a broader tax extenders bill. These housing-related provisions include extensions of the exclusion for canceled mortgage debt, the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums, and provisions related to the low-income housing tax credit.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44304", "sha1": "a22e6e4f9de99591d93e22f953ddfdef3a368c97", "filename": "files/20161201_R44304_a22e6e4f9de99591d93e22f953ddfdef3a368c97.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44304", "sha1": "75c8d62054ac7eaabe1918226cf6f996d15ea4b9", "filename": "files/20161201_R44304_75c8d62054ac7eaabe1918226cf6f996d15ea4b9.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4776, "name": "Housing Finance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4853, "name": "Housing Assistance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4918, "name": "Homeownership & Housing Finance" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 450515, "date": "2016-03-03", "retrieved": "2016-03-24T17:01:46.963492", "title": "Housing Issues in the 114th Congress", "summary": "Housing and residential mortgage markets in the United States are continuing to recover from several years of turmoil that began in 2007-2008, though the recovery has been uneven across the country. Nationally, home prices have been consistently increasing since 2012. Negative equity and mortgage foreclosure rates have been steadily decreasing, though both remain elevated. Home sales have begun to increase, with sales of existing homes approaching levels that were common in the early 2000s, though sales of new homes and housing starts remain low.\nMortgage originations have remained relatively low despite ongoing low interest rates, leading many to argue that it is too difficult for prospective homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage. Some believe that this is because mortgage regulations put in place in recent years are restricting access to mortgages for creditworthy homebuyers, while others hold that these rules provide important consumer protections and suggest that other factors are limiting mortgage access. Nearly three-quarters of new mortgages continue to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with the remaining mortgages mostly being held on bank balance sheets. \nIn the rental housing market, vacancy rates have continued to decline and rents have continued to increase as more households become renters. Although the supply of rental housing has also increased, it has generally not kept pace with the increasing demand. Rising rents have contributed to housing affordability problems, which are especially pronounced for low-income renters. \nThe 114th Congress has been considering a number of housing-related issues against this backdrop. Some of these issues are related to housing for low-income individuals and families, including appropriations for housing programs in a limited funding environment, proposed reforms to certain rental assistance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), debate over funding for two affordable housing funds (the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund), and the possible reauthorization of the main program that provides housing assistance to Native Americans. Congress has also taken the occasion of HUD\u2019s 50th anniversary to reflect on the department\u2019s role through hearings and other actions. \nCongress has also been deliberating on certain housing finance-related issues, including possible targeted changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, oversight of mortgage-related rulemakings, and issues related to the future and financial health of FHA. \nTwo fair housing issues have also been active in the 114th Congress. HUD recently released a new rule updating certain HUD grantees\u2019 responsibilities to \u201caffirmatively further\u201d fair housing. Separately, the Supreme Court issued a decision affirming that disparate impact claims are allowable under the Fair Housing Act. Congress has expressed interest in both of these developments. \nAs in recent years, the 114th Congress has considered several housing-related tax provisions as part of a broader tax extenders bill. These housing-related provisions include extensions of the exclusion for canceled mortgage debt, the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums, and provisions related to the low-income housing tax credit.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44304", "sha1": "facb814e5976048b01e3edeec8c5f1776de09b78", "filename": "files/20160303_R44304_facb814e5976048b01e3edeec8c5f1776de09b78.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44304", "sha1": "e71a4ce8250e405b6543dede95338cee6856be2d", "filename": "files/20160303_R44304_e71a4ce8250e405b6543dede95338cee6856be2d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2201, "name": "Housing for Low-Income Individuals and Families" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2869, "name": "Housing Finance Reform" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4306, "name": "Homeownership Assistance" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Domestic Social Policy", "Economic Policy" ] }