Sweeping changes to housing likely on backburner following election

Ed DeMarco
Ed DeMarco

Does President Barack Obama’s reelection mean sweeping changes to the housing sector? Perhaps down the road, but not in the near future, according to a HousingWire report.

Ed DeMarco, the acting head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is not likely to leave his post anytime soon, since there is no immediate replacement for him, and Obama is likely to keep him around to lessen the threat of a fiscal cliff early next year, HousingWire said, citing analysis from Compass Point Research & Trading, an investment research firm.

Additionally, it is unlikely that lawmakers will forge ahead with the Menendez-Boxer legislation, which would expand refinancing options, according to Compass Point.

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Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association is calling for changes. In a statement issued today, the trade group renewed its call for President Obama to “appoint a federal housing policy coordinator to act as a ‘traffic cop.’”

This official would not make rules, the group said, but would instead “ensure a coordinated housing policy where federal and regulatory agencies are effectively talking to each other as the rulemakings and policies are proposed and adopted in order to ensure that they complement each other.” [HousingWire]Zachary Kussin