The book demonstrates how politicians and federal agencies dominated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and took just thirteen years to wreck the American dream of home ownership.

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the current state of housing finance in the United States. Although a number of important steps have been taken to address the structural weaknesses exposed by the crisis in mortgage markets, comprehensive housing finance reform remains the largest piece of unfinished business. Mortgage markets, even eight years after the start of the crisis, continue to function with extensive government support. Reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, which remain in conservatorship, has stalled—generating uncertainty and complicating other policy initiatives. However, there has been progress in building other components for a well-functioning housing finance system.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that played a prominent role in the financial crisis of 2008, and the federal government have come to a crossroads. The government must make key decisions about their structure, and indeed, their very existence. The government has played an important role in the American housing market since the early 1930s, when the Great Depression ushered in housing programs to promote a stable society. The government's role expanded further during the recent housing and financial crisis—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now dominate the American housing market, backing more than 62 percent of new mortgages and holding more than $5 trillion in accumulated mortgage risk. In The Future of Housing Finance Martin Baily and his associates discuss the issues and options that policymakers face as they reassess the government's role in the U.S. residential mortgage market. While presenting diverse analytical perspectives, including a contribution from former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, all contributors agree that the government's support for mortgage financing in the recent past was too broad and deep but some role is necessary to maintain the stability of the housing finance market. The Obama administration has recommended reducing the role of Fannie and Freddie while replacing them with a private market approach, but continuing federal support for worthy borrowers. But what will Congress agree to? And how fast will it move on any initiative? Specific topics include: • Introduction of a new system to reduce incentives that encourage excessive risk taking. • Gradual withdrawal of Fannie and Freddie from the housing finance system. • New approaches to regulating mortgage securitization, with financial stability as a primary goal. • Use of government-backed guarantees through institutional structures designed to limit moral hazard.