Archive
Housing policy
Can Factories Fix Housing?
In the next two issues of Capital Commentary, we dive into the evolving world of factory-built homes and explore the crucial policy shifts needed to supercharge their role in solving the housing crisis....
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Housing policy
Housing Crisis in Rural USA
Iowa’s slogan is the “State of Minds,” and it’s grappling with its own State of Housing. It's a conversation that demands attention from policymakers....
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Housing policy
Closing Costs Crackdown
Lucky families and individuals who find a home to purchase are discovering it costs more than in the past to close the loan....
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Housing policy
Why We Need to Grow Black Homeownership
March has arrived! Spring Training is in full bloom in Florida and Arizona. Who could ask for anything more? (Well, maybe more affordable homes for sale.) Thanks to a recent suggestion from a reader, th...
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Housing policy
Fixing Basel III’s Threat to Homeownership
It’s February — officially the shortest month of the year. Unofficially, it’s the longest if your job is reading the thousands of pages of comment letters submitted in response to the banking agencies’ ...
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Housing policy
Homeowners Insurance Crisis Worsening
Your mail might arrive on time, but weather catastrophes might also raise your homeowners insurance premiums or, worse yet, cause your policy to be canceled. In this issue, Capital Commentary offers a ...
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Housing policy
Regulators Revisit Redlining
If you thought redlining was a housing practice found just in history books, think again. Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)...
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Housing policy
Will Banks Abandon Home Lending?
If scorching summer temperatures weren’t bad enough, the housing finance industry is hot under the collar due to new bank capital requirements, found in the so-called Basel III Endgame, for home loans...
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Housing policy
Common Woes Offer Hope for Housing
Sadly, the days are already getting shorter here on the other side of the summer solstice. We thought it a good time to shorten this issue of Capital Commentary, too, by a couple of hundred words while...
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Housing policy
FHFA under Fire
The dog days of summer haven’t yet hit Washington, but the temperature was plenty hot for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) at two House committees investigating the regulator’s decisions on the...
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