Securing the Dream of U.S. Homeownership

The financial crisis has taken an immense toll on the economy, and the impact has been devastating for millions of American families. Since 2009, 8.5 million foreclosure notices have been sent to American homeowners, the average home has lost $13,000 in value, and eleven million borrowers are "underwater," owing more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth. Although there have been some recent signs of life in the housing market, our economy remains stuck in neutral with 23 million Americans struggling to find work, persistently high unemployment that has stayed above 8% for a record 43 consecutive months, and real household incomes falling more than $4,000 over the past four years. The weakness of the recovery has left many in America struggling to make ends meet, pay their bills, or stay current on their mortgage payments. Over 3 million households are currently in the foreclosure process or seriously delinquent on their mortgage. Despite an alphabet soup of federal housing assistance programs and an unprecedented period of record low mortgage rates, the current "recovery" means that housing's contribution to GDP is only half of what it has been historically. Unfortunately, the failed policies of the Obama administration have put the dream of homeownership needlessly out of reach. In many cases, the president's policies have made things worse.