MBA Sees $6-8T in Housing Capital Needs

Over the next two decades, the mortgage industry will need to attract $6-8 trillion of new capital to finance the housing needs of a rapidly expanding population, Mortgage Bankers Association chairman Regina Lowrie has told attendees at the MBA's annual mortgage servicing conference in Phoenix.The MBA estimates that the U.S. population, fueled by immigration and internal growth, will increase by some 70 million over the next two decades. That translates into roughly 30 million new households that will need housing, Ms. Lowrie said. Citing a Brookings Institution report, Ms. Lowrie said this population growth will require the construction of enough residential and commercial building space to double the nation's total space over the next 25 years. "That's the challenge we face with everything going smoothly," she said.