RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas W. Elmendorf, April 10, 2008, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Congress and the administration are moving forward in myriad ways to boost beleaguered homeowners and put the economy back on track. Doug Elmendorf, testifying before the Senate, urged policy-makers to expand the role of the Federal Housing Administration to help families in trouble refinance their mortgages, and offered comments on the compromise Senate housing bill. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alice M. Rivlin, May 28, 2008, National Governors Association
The following remarks were delivered by Alice Rivlin during a luncheon speech at the State on Foreclosures and Housing Solutions hosted by the National Governors Association. Illustrating the effects of both the credit and foreclosure crisis providing reasons for optimis in the current state of the economy. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Martin Neil Baily, Douglas W. Elmendorf and Robert E. Litan, May 16, 2008, The Brookings Institution
With the U.S. financial system still in a perilous state, Martin Baily, Doug Elmendorf and Bob Litan diagnose what caused the crisis and offer prescriptions for policy change. The authors of this new Brookings paper address two challenges: to resolve the immediate problems and to reduce the likelihood that these problems recur. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ted Gayer, November 19, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The housing market, thought to finally be stabilizing, took a surprising tumble with new-home starts dropping 10.6% in October from the previous month. Ted Gayer writes that those expecting the recently extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit to improve this situation are likely to be disappointed, and that the credit may be unintentionally weakening the rental market. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Barry P. Bosworth and Rosanna Smart, November 18, 2009, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Barry Bosworth and Rosanna Smart explore the consequences of the housing price bubble and its collapse for the wealth of older households, utilizing micro survey data to follow the rise in home values to 2007 and observing which households enjoyed home price appreciation and how they responded in terms of equity withdrawal. The authors conclude that while older households mitigated their real estate and equity losses with relatively stable fixed-value assets and pension programs, they also lost much of their presumed gains relative to earlier cohorts, and they will have less time to recover. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Washington, DC
On November 17, a day-long conference co-sponsored by Brookings and the Heritage Foundation will explore the measurement challenges associated with the recession, particularly in the financial and housing sectors; how innovation can become a standard component of our national accounting system, and how incorporating innovation metrics will aid the development of a unified picture of the sources of growth and economic disruption. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Washington, DC
President Obama approved the expansion and extension of the homebuyer tax credit initially approved as part of the economic stimulus package. While this move is intended to spur home sales, many experts argue that extending the tax credit is bad policy. On Wednesday, November 11, Ted Gayer and Politico Senior Editor Fred Barbash will be online to answer your questions about the homebuyer tax credit in a live web chat. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ted Gayer, November 11, 2009, The Brookings Institution
On Wednesday, November 11, Ted Gayer and Fred Barbash participated in a live web chat on the extended homebuyer tax credit, debating whether or not President Obama should have let it expire. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Larry Cordell, Karen Dynan, Andreas Lehnert, Nellie Liang and Eileen Mauskopf, October 30, 2009, Federal Reserve Board: Finance and Economics Discussion Series
In order to shore up the housing market and prevent foreclsoures, the government has instituted the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Larry Cordell, Karen Dynan, Andreas Lehnert, Nellie Liang and Eileen Mauskopf find that HAMP's key features should alleviate some of the previous obstacles to successful loan modifications. But, they say, the program is not well-suited to address payment problems associated with job loss, and they believe focusing on reducing payments rather than principal is ineffective when the homeowner has negative equity, with short sales being a better option. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ted Gayer, October 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Ted Gayer addresses the potential cost of a home buyer tax credit in light of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation’s cost estimate and still concludes that the credit would be a poorly targeted subsidy, even if the program is smaller and shorter in duration. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Washington, DC
On October 13, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program hosted a panel discussion around how to best prepare and support metropolitan regions in the development of integrated blueprint plans for sustainable growth. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alan Berube, October 09, 2009, The Brookings Institution
As the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers nears expiration, congressional leaders are considering an extension and an expansion of the program. However, Alan Berube argues that this is not only poor tax policy but also, because of regional variations in housing prices, potentially inflationary. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ted Gayer, October 09, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The housing market, while showing some signs of recovery, is still weak, which is why policymakers are considering more ways to support it. One idea is to extend and expand the homebuyers tax credit. Ted Gayer says the proposal is misguided, poorly targeted and very expensive. Read More
VIDEO
Ted Gayer, September 25, 2009
New U.S. home sales were flat in August and existing home sales fell, showing that the housing sector still remains weak. Ted Gayer, co-director of Economic Studies, says there has been some housing stabilization thanks to the Federal Reserve, but that there is still downside risk in the market. Costly tax incentives to encourage homeownership have long-term budget consequences.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ted Gayer, September 24, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Today’s existing-home sales numbers, which were below expectations, show that the housing market is still soft. Moves by the Fed to phase out its mortgage-backed security program may lead to increased mortgage interest rates, says Economic Studies Co-Director Ted Gayer. But he says the first-time homebuyer tax credit is expensive, poorly targeted and should not be extended. Read More