Congressional Hearings Shed Light on Possible Future of Housing Finance

Congress recently called different participants in the housing market to provide their feedback and inputs on housing finance. The discussion was mainly focused on what participants’ view was on what housing finance may look like in future, and what role, if any, should government play in the marketplace.

Participants included securitization industry groups, secondary market investors, academicians, and housing professionals. Their testimonies provided great insight into where the weaknesses lie in the current system, what is working just fine, and what needs to change.

Before figuring out what the future of the housing market might look like, it would be a good idea to spend some time understanding the present structure – participants, flow, and inter-relationships. This will not only provide us with a good foundation to understand the discussion but also give us an idea of the weaknesses of the system.

In the first part of my series on housing finance, I will cover the current system of housing market.