The recovery and long-term performance of U.S. housing markets unquestionably hinges on the availability and terms of financing. Yet, with the housing finance system currently undergoing profound changes, there are significant questions about what the future supply of mortgage finance will look like. Lending institutions are exercising extreme caution in their underwriting, and there are legitimate concerns that this tightening will go too far so that homeseekers and financers of multifamily rental housing will be starved of credit.
This What Works framing paper highlights four critical policy challenges in the area of housing finance: mortgage lending to underserved groups; financing for the evolving rental housing market; lending in distressed neighborhoods; and the role of mortgage finance in supporting environmentally sustainable housing.
This framing paper is part of a series of field-building research agendas produced under the What Works Collaborative. More information can be found on the <a href=”http://www.urban.org/what-works-agendas.cfm”>What Works Collaborative web page</a>