Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are lowering mortgage standards. On Monday, the two government-backed housing giants revealed a new program designed to boost mortgage origination among first time buyers and those with low to medium incomes. The new program, which will initially be limited two non-bank lenders, will allow borrowers to include the income of residents that aren’t actually on the mortgage, as well as make it easier for borrowers to include income from second jobs.
While these changes may strike some as sensible, anyone who has seen The Big Short would have valid concerns in the oversight of these looser lending standards – especially when you consider that the companies responsible for mortgage origination will not be the ones holding the mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will. It’s always easier to make loans when you know the taxpayers are the ones that will be holding the risk.
Not only does this program increase taxpayer risk, it does nothing to solve the real issues in the housing market.
This post was published at Ludwig von Mises Institute on Sept 22, 2016.
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