Biden Administration Archives

March 15, 2024April 25, 2024

State of the Home Buyer: White House Promotes New Set of Tax Credits

Housing affordability remains out of reach for many in the U.S. population today. What’s the matter?

Mortgage interest rates haven’t eased in any kind of significant way so far this year. Maybe in June…

More than half of U.S. renters report struggling to pay for housing every month.

Some would like to buy their own homes, but at this point call that a dream.

Joe Biden’s March 2024 State of the Union address laid out the latest plan to help. Here’s an update on the issue, and how the administration intends to deal with it.

December 13, 2023April 25, 2024

Fannie Mae Was Going to Save Mortgage Borrowers Thousands by Dropping Its Title Insurance Requirement. Never Mind.

The Biden administration was working with loan backers to delete title insurance charges from closing costs. The move would have saved quite a few home buyers hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Noting that the plan had been silently scuttled, the Wall Street Journal said pressure against it came from “an obscure industry.”

The obscure industry is the real estate title insurance sector. It’s hardly obscure in our book. But the Wall Street Journal pointed to the industry’s small population. Only some 155,000 people reportedly work in the title and settlement sector.

In 2023, Fannie Mae was getting ready to test its planned phase-out of the title insurance requirement for mortgage borrowers. Evidently, the aforementioned industry wanted to save itself from further obscurity!

The title insurers pushed back. And Fannie Mae abandoned its test run.

November 24, 2023April 25, 2024

Fair Appraisals Matter—To the White House, and to Us

Have you heard about PAVE? Most people haven’t. It stands for Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity.

When it comes to homeownership, fair appraisals are not just a matter of numbers—they’re a cornerstone of equity and financial prosperity. Enter PAVE. This initiative, championed by the White House, is more than just an acronym; it’s a pivotal step towards addressing long-standing biases in home valuations that disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities. While many are still unaware of PAVE, its impact could reshape the landscape of real estate fairness. Two years since its introduction by the Interagency Task Force, it’s crucial to examine the progress and understand why fair home appraisals are not just beneficial but essential for a more equitable society.

Why? We believe fair home appraisals can help promote good selling and buying experiences for more people. In short, PAVE is good for deed holders, good for title transactions, and helpful for ensuring fairness when deeds change hands.