In response to these announcements, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit praised the administration’s focus on reforms to boost housing supply and affordability, highlighting the importance of initiatives like expanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to make a difference.
“Housing markets across the country continue to suffer from supply-demand imbalances, and we have urged the administration to take meaningful action to remove regulatory barriers that impede development,” Broeksmit said. “Some of the initiatives announced today would boost housing availability and affordability, including expanding the volume of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocations. We urge the Senate to pass the bipartisan ‘Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024’ (H.R. 7024) as soon as possible to produce an estimated 200,000 additional rental units over the next two years.”
Read more: Could bond yield trends hint at a more affordable housing market?
However, Broeksmit also expressed concerns about certain proposals, warning that they might undermine consumer protections and increase regulatory costs.
“MBA has significant concerns that some of the proposals on closing costs and title insurance could undermine consumer protections, increase risk, and reduce competition,” he said. “In 2015, the industry implemented final rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau making comprehensive reforms to mortgage disclosures to increase clarity and transparency and to help facilitate consumer shopping. In 2020, the CFPB reviewed and praised its own rules. Suggestions that another revamp of these rules is needed depart from the legal regime created by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act and will only increase regulatory costs and make it untenable for smaller lenders to compete.”
