Affordable housing

Michael Bright co-wrote a paper in 2016 that envisioned making the agency a backstop for the housing finance system, but appeared to distance himself from the proposal at his confirmation hearing.

The California Democrat would have more of a bully pulpit as chair of the Financial Services Committee, but some say she could take a pragmatic approach to passing banking legislation.

Of the 5,500 housing-unit building permits issued by the city between 2015 and 2017, only 98 were for apartments or houses that people with salaries in the minimum wage range or a little higher could afford.

At least 38 projects totaling 3,337 units were proposed statewide in 2017, which is far more than the five projects totaling 391 units proposed in 2010, the basement of the Great Recession.

Lawmakers want the agency to utilize two programs to help families still struggling to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Instead of shrinking the GSEs, the housing regulator is letting them expand into a host of new products and programs.

The Democratic congresswoman said the department under Secretary Ben Carson has turned "its back on its mission."

Walker & Dunlop has been approved as a seller and servicer under Freddie Mac's Affordable Single-Family Rental pilot program, allowing the company to focus on middle markets.

The groups applauded a proposal to establish minimum GSE capital requirements, but called for more immediate steps to release the companies from conservatorship.

The New Orleans housing market is strengthening, with home prices climbing in most neighborhoods and the number of vacant or blighted properties shrinking, according to a new analysis.