The new head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro, in his first major policy speech, said lending standards have become too tight and policymakers need to find ways to expand the housing market. Speaking at a housing summit sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the former mayor of San Antonio supports the Johnson-Crapo measure to reform housing finance that passed out of the Senate Banking Committee. The bill would eventually eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while maintaining a backstop for the private securitization market, but opposition by several key Democrats has stalled it, according to nationalmortgagenews.com. He supports the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) housing counseling program called HAWK—Homeowners Armed with Knowledge—that can save FHA borrowers $10,000 over the life of a loan if they adhere to the counseling program. FHA has also developed a Loan Quality Assessment Framework to clarify underwriting guidelines. MHProNews understands loosening of credit is good for the manufactured housing industry as well. ##
