(RECAP: Remember when the mortgage loan industry nearly brought down the global economy? Virginia Senator Mark Warner says we haven’t fully recovered from that, and he’s working to make long-term change. Warner says the housing market is patched together with Band-Aids and bailouts. And, he says, all that federal money that went to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help homebuyers finance buys is still on the line. Frank Shafroth at George Mason University says it’s a mistake to return the housing market to what it was before. But, he says, the government can’t continue to own such a large part of the market. Warner has already joined forces with Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee to draft the Housing Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act. But, he says, he doesn’t expect the lame duck Congress to take it up. That means that it’s likely to be a huge issue early in the next administration.)

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(RECAP: To hear many industry observers tell it, the strong demand for and performance of affordable housing this year should only continue in 2017. Indeed, the consensus among the lenders, investors, bankers, and other experts we spoke with for this tale is that the broad array of financing options available to developers will grow, as will flexibility in how to use them. Issuance of multifamily housing bonds is expected to continue to increase after posting solid gains in recent years. At the same time the bond market is picking up its pace, the LIHTC market continues to roll and is expected to remain very strong in 2017.)

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(RECAP: When a family with children seeks emergency shelter, there are a number of interventions to address their homelessness. Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the results of an exhaustive study to identify the most efficient and cost-effective ways to house and serve these families. After tracking more than 2,200 families over a three-year period, HUD found that a long-term subsidy, typically a Housing Choice Voucher, led to far better outcomes for reducing family homelessness and improving family well-being.)

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