The Daily Circuit

Bipartisan group urges new housing policy for U.S.

9:06 AM, March 19, 2013

Larger view
A new housing subdivision outside of Orlando, Fla. U.S. home prices jumped 3.8 percent in the 12 months ending in July 2012, according to a private real estate data provider. The year-over-year increase was the biggest in six years. (JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)

Audio

On the radio

  • Barry Zigas: Director of housing policy for Consumer Federation of America; founder, Zigas and Associates LLC
  • Larry A. Rosenthal: Executive director of the Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy; assistant adjunct professor, the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley
LISTEN

When the housing bubble burst in 2007, it did lasting damage to the U.S. economy. Now the housing market appears to be recovering — but did policymakers learn anything in the last crisis that can help us avoid the next one? Amid the hopeful signs comes this disturbing one: More than four mortgages in five are still backed by the U.S. government.

A new report calls for a major overhaul of the housing finance system, and it recommends changes that would affect renters as well as homeowners. Renters in the Twin Cities might say it's about time, because rents in our region remain out of reach for many. But how much can government do to address that problem?

We'll discuss what a new housing finance policy might look like, and how it could affect you.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOUSING FINANCE POLICY:

• "A conversation on the new direction of housing policy." Zigas joins Rep. Keith Ellison April 4 at the Wilder Conference Center in St. Paul to discuss housing reform in 2013. (Minnesota Housing Partnership)

• "Innovations in Housing Policy: The Evolving Role of Local Government."As the federal government moves to limit its role, Larry A. Rosenthal explores what local units of government can do to affect the housing market. (Community-wealth.org)

• "Easing U.S., slowly, out of home financing." A commentator considers the implications of a new report on housing policy. (New York Times)

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