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
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
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
VIDEO
Alan Berube, September 15, 2009
Alan Berube, research director of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy program, says the second MetroMonitor shows an uneven recovery, that economic gains in some regions of the country have been offset by an increase of financial instability in others.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Frank S. Alexander, October 28, 2008, The Brookings Institution
A new Blueprint paper argues that the rising number of vacant and abandoned properties around the nation requires a more robust drive by the federal government to aid states and localities in land banking. The author, Frank Alexander of Emory University, recommends that federal policy should better capitalize local and regional land banking (the process or policy by which local governments acquire surplus properties and convert them to productive use), encourage code reform and regional collaboration. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, May 16, 2008
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC
How could America's sophisticated financial system go so wrong and cause so much damage? Martin Baily, Douglas Elmendorf and Robert Litan answered that question in a new paper released at this public forum. The authors, following opening remarks by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, put forward a specific agenda of policy actions to reduce the chance that history repeats itself. 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
VIDEO
Bruce Katz and Martha Raddatz, April 24, 2008
Despite the fact that one-third of all Americans live in rental housing, rental policy often takes a back seat to home-ownership policy in Washington. To ensure that low- and moderate-income Americans can afford rental housing, Bruce Katz says that the next president needs to help supplement incomes, empower local governments to expand the supply of affordable housing and deal with the subprime mortgage crisis.
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
Douglas W. Elmendorf, February 29, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Without government action, mortgage foreclosures will rise steeply for the next several years, argues Doug Elmendorf. He analyzes the wide range of proposals for tackling this problem, arguing that policy-makers should weigh the fairness of alternative approaches and effects on future mortgage credit, as well as the consequences of inaction. Read More
BOOK
Nicolas P. Retsinas, Eric S. Belsky and Foreword by Anthony Downs, February 01, 2008
Leading housing researchers build upon decades of experience, research, and evaluation to inform our understanding of the nation’s rental housing challenges and what can be done about them. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Brooke DeRenzis, January 14, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Evidence from a variety of sources indicates that there is renewed interest in living in the District of Columbia. Brooke DeRenzis reviews changes among D.C.’s population since 2000 and examines movement in and out of the city. She finds that the city has drawn newcomers from across the country. Many of those leaving the District are settling in the Washington region’s suburbs. Read More