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The Latest GSE Stress Test Results: Confirming a Major De-risking Success
On August 11, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator and conservator of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), released the latest annual stress test results for the two firms. This is the ninth year for the GSEs to be subject to the legally-mandated test, which reflects the “severe adverse” economic scenario produced by the Federal Reserve being applied to the companies’ year-end 2021 financial statements.
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Research & Policy
When Will Government Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac End? (Part 2)
Part 1 of this series described how when the GSEs were put into conservatorship under the Bush administration, the prevailing view was that fundamental reform of their operations was a necessary prerequisite to ending government control. Part 2 addresses two related issues how much longer can we expect government control to last, and what are the most important steps that can be taken in the near term to prepare the companies for an exit to happen as expeditiously as possible, once the FHFA and Treasury decide to go ahead.
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Research & Policy
When Will Government Control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae End? (Part 1)
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that have long funded roughly half of all single-family mortgages in America, were placed under government control on September 7, 2008, at the height of the financial crisis then underway. Under four presidential administrations, a handful of key policy decisions cumulatively extended that control far longer than anyone would have originally predicted; with its fourteenth anniversary approaching, moreover, there is arguably no end in sight. This article, the first of a two-part series, describes those decisions, as well as the background and thinking behind them.
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Research & Policy
Advancing Choice in the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Source of Income Protections and Locational Outcomes
In a new NYU Wagner Research Paper, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Katherine O’Regan, and Katharine WH Harwood used data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to better understand the impact of source of income (SOI) laws on locational outcomes. These laws prohibit discrimination based on the income a tenant uses to pay rent and thus make it unlawful to refuse to rent to a household on the grounds that it participates in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.
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Research & Policy
The Economic Challenge for the Rent Guidelines Board: Balancing Long-Term Affordability in Rent Stabilized Housing
The responsibility for overseeing the economic viability and affordability of rent stabilized housing rests with the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), which sets annual rent adjustments for rent stabilized apartments. Given the importance of the rent stabilized apartment stock, it is essential to think hard about how to preserve both its quality and quantity.
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News & Events
Policy Breakfast: The Future of 421-a and Housing Development
On February 24th, the NYU Furman Center hosted a virtual policy breakfast titled: ‘The future of 421-a and Housing Development’. Our panelists offered a range of perspectives on the current 421-a program and its role in the future of the city’s housing policy. The debate touched on a host of interconnected issues, including the city’s arcane property tax system and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, a relatively new Zoning Resolution requirement that significantly upzoned residential lots include income-restricted housing.
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Comparing the Current 421-a Exemption to Governor Hochul’s Proposed Reforms
This blog post uses the recently-released data brief, “The Role of 421-a during a Decade of Market Rate and Affordable Housing Development,” to contextualize Governor Hochul’s recently-proposed reforms to the 421-a tax exemption program. Hochul’s 485-w would change the types of properties and AMI levels of renters/owners eligible to benefit from the tax exemption, and we deploy data from the past decade to scrutinize those reforms.
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Research & Policy
The Academic Effects of Chronic Exposure to Neighborhood Violence
Since the pandemic began, the city has experienced a significant increase in gun violence and homicide which can lead to emotional distress, behavioral changes, and detrimental cognitive effects for students. This paper examines the differences between students with varying levels of crime exposure and finds that increased exposure results in lower English Language Arts (ELA) and math exam scores. The paper’s regression models suggest that exposure to violence had an adverse effect on reading and math test scores for students, and the effects increased with the number of violent crimes.
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Research & Policy
Policy Minute: Exclusionary Zoning
This Policy Minute provides key data, perspectives, and Furman Center research to inform questions and discussions about exclusionary zoning, and how national lessons are being applied to New York State.
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Data Updates
Data Update: Analysis Of Renters At Risk As Eviction Moratorium Expires
To detail the more immediate implications of the expiring eviction moratorium we summarize key data that offer insight into the volume and nature of eviction cases, explain how eviction cases have proceeded through the courts to the stage where tenants have outstanding warrants for eviction, and review the current status of the three principal tenant protections.
