Monday, January 26, 2009

If Housing is the Key to End Recession...


...why aren't they doing more?
While the current recession will be longer and more severe than predicted, housing will help lead the country out of the downturn, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren told the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association at its annual meeting. He also said the housing market could stabilize this year, which he sees as a prerequisite for recovery.
"The recent reductions in mortgage rates, in part due to monetary policy actions, have enabled more borrowers than would otherwise have done so to purchase or refinance homes," Rosengren said.
"Expansion of this effort and encouraging greater [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] participation, should encourage borrowers who have equity and reasonable credit scores to purchase or refinance homes," he added.
He also said that once the market stabilizes, mortgage securitization should be restructured to prevent future upheavals.
Maybe I'm expecting too much, too soon. All this rhetoric isn't helping first time buyers to qualify, or allowing the move-up buyer to get a competitive interest rate.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Housing is the key because it hold our banks balance sheets out to dry. Bad government policy for banks, along with irresponcible bankers have put us here. We need to sure up property values to stop the bleeding. This will regain confidence and start the economy up again.

Anonymous said...

The issue isn’t getting buyers qualified or interest rates, the issue is price. Housing has been in a bubble since at least the first part of this decade. Until prices return to that level we won’t be out of this. All of the government activities surrounding stopping foreclosures delay the price declines and prolong the crisis.