This short article argues that the Federal Housing Administration has suffered as a result of many of the same unrealistic underwriting assumptions that led to problems for many lenders during the 2000s. It, too, was harmed by a housing market as bad as any since the Great Depression. As a result, the federal government announced in 2013 that the FHA would require the first bailout in the agency's history. While facing financial challenges, the FHA has also come under attack for the poor execution of policies designed to expand homeownership opportunities. Leading commentators have called for the federal government to stop having the FHA do anything but provide liquidity to the low end of the mortgage market. These critics rely on a few examples of agency programs that were clearly failures, but they do not address the FHA's long history of undertaking comparable initiatives. In fact, the FHA has a history of successfully undertaking new homeownership programs. However, it also has operational flaws that should be addressed before it undertakes similar future homeownership initiatives.

The nation's homeownership rate is affected by both the length of time that households remain as homeowners rather than reverting to being a renter & the length of time households rent or live with their parents following the termination of a period of homeowning. Thus, differences in ownership rates between whites, African Americans, & Hispanics could be due, in part, to differences in their durations of owning, renting, & living with parents. This analysis reveals that it is not true that once an owner, always an owner.Ó The rate of exiting from homeownership differs substantially by race & ethnicity of the owner. This study follows a cohort of individuals for 21 years. Policies must promote new ownership spells that are sustainable. Tables.

Written by experts, Sustainable Housing brings new perspectives on residential sustainability, using case studies of latest practice. This book is based upon the 'Housing and Sustainability' conference at the RIBA in 1998, which intended to guide action into the next century, setting down key principles, providing important new technical information and setting UK practices in a European context.

Rapidly changing credit and housing market conditions of the past fifteen years have markedly impacted home ownership rates. Home ownership rates in the United States have increased steadily and significantly from 1995 to 2004, from 64 percent to 69 percent. No additional increase in home ownership, in the aggregate, occurred with the expansion of non prime lending after 2004. By year-end 2008, the overall U.S. home ownership rate had fallen to a level below that of 2002. As delinquencies and foreclosures mount, putting the nation's homeowners and the economy at risk, home ownership rates continue to decline. We review the evidence pertaining to home ownership rates, explore the possible role of financial institutions in increasing home ownership in sustainable and unsustainable ways, and address the role of regulation. We review evidence suggesting how flexible lending initiatives have expanded access to home ownership. We also examine the role of non prime lending and the consequences of housing market price instability for home ownership. Fluctuations in the availability of credit for home ownership, and the global credit market collapse raise questions that we cannot answer here about the mistakes that have contributed to the current housing crisis. Nonetheless, evidence on market outcomes allows us at least to raise such questions, and explore the role of regulation in supporting responsible mortgage lending that encourages sustainable home ownership.

Written by experts using case studies of latest practice, Sustainable Housing brings new perspectives on residential sustainability and is based upon the 'Housing and Sustainability' conference at the RIBA in 1998.

US cities are faced with the joint challenge of our climate crisis and the lack of housing that is affordable and healthy. Our housing stock contributes significantly to the changing climate, with residential buildings accounting for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. US housing is not only unhealthy for the planet, it is putting the physical and financial health of residents at risk. Our housing system means that a renter working 40 hours a week and earning minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any US county. In Gray to Green Communities, green affordable housing expert Dana Bourland argues that we need to move away from a gray housing model to a green model, which considers the health and well-being of residents, their communities, and the planet. She demonstrates that we do not have to choose between protecting our planet and providing housing affordable to all. Bourland draws from her experience leading the Green Communities Program at Enterprise Community Partners, a national community development intermediary. Her work resulted in the first standard for green affordable housing which was designed to deliver measurable health, economic, and environmental benefits. The book opens with the potential of green affordable housing, followed by the problems that it is helping to solve, challenges in the approach that need to be overcome, and recommendations for the future of green affordable housing. Gray to Green Communities brings together the stories of those who benefit from living in green affordable housing and examples of Green Communities’ developments from across the country. Bourland posits that over the next decade we can deliver on the human right to housing while reaching a level of carbon emissions reductions agreed upon by scientists and demanded by youth. Gray to Green Communities will empower and inspire anyone interested in the future of housing and our planet.

This document (which is a corrected edition of the publication first issued in January 2005) sets out the Government's five year plan to create sustainable mixed communities by addressing the varied housing challenges faced in different parts of the country and improving the supply and quality of housing for everyone, including first time buyers, social tenants, key workers and private sector tenants. Proposals for reforms include: investment in housebuilding and infrastructure to tackle housing shortages in the South East, using the private finance initiative; a new Code for Sustainable Buildings, new powers to limit low density development and to protect the Green Belt; measures to help 80,000 first time buyers and an extension of the Key Worker Living scheme; a new Choice to Own scheme for council and housing association tenants; a new moveUK system to provide information about availability of jobs and homes to offer people the opportunity to move to new areas; improved quality and availability of private rented accommodation; an enhanced strategic role for local authorities in planning housing and growth; investment in housing related services to help older and disabled people live independently; and plans to address homelessness, including halving the number of households living in temporary accommodation by 2010.

Sustainable housing is generally used to describe housing that is environmentally friendly and resource-efficient over the lifetime of the building. Homes are designed to have the least possible negative impact on the environment. This means energy efficiency, avoiding environmental toxins, and responsibly using materials and resources while having positive physical and psychological effects on inhabitants. This book presents a comprehensive overview of sustainable housing, starting from legislation and ending with the design and configuration of homes.