The American Mortgage System

Successful home ownership requires the availability of appropriate mortgage products. In the years leading up to the housing bubble, home buyers frequently accepted mortgages that were not only wrong for them but catastrophic for the economy as a whole. When the housing market crumbled, so did a cornerstone of the American dream for many families. Restoring the promise of this dream requires an unflinching inspection of lending institutions and the right tools to repair the structures that support solid home purchases in the future. The American Mortgage System: Crisis and Reformfocuses on the causes of the housing market collapse and proposes solutions to prevent another rash of foreclosures. Edited by two leaders in the field of real estate and finance, Susan M. Wachter and Marvin M. Smith, The American Mortgage Systemexamines key elements of the mortgage meltdown. The volume's contributors address the influence of the Community Reinvestment Act, which is often blamed for the crisis. They uncover how the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac invested outside their traditional housing market with disastrous results. They present surprising information about low-income borrowers and the strengths of local banks. This collection of thoughtful studies includes extensive analysis of loan practices and the creation of unstable mortgage securities, presenting data largely unavailable until now. More than a critique, The American Mortgage System offers solutions to the problems facing the future of American home ownership, including identifying asset price bubbles, calculating risk, and preventing discrimination in lending. Measured yet timely and sometimes provocative, The American Mortgage Systemprovides a careful assessment of a troubled but indispensable part of the economic and social structure of the United States. This book is a sound investment for economists, urban planners, and all who shape public policy.