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Government policy. The US has multiple quasi-government mortgage market makers (because just one is somehow not enough...) that define baseline terms for home
by topspin 3y ago
Government policy. The US has multiple quasi-government mortgage market makers (because just one is somehow not enough...) that define baseline terms for home mortgages, and everyone must play their tune. See Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Seriously. That's what they're named.
There is another one tangentially involved as well that I can't remember the name of.
- Gibbon1 3y agoExactly. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy about around 70 percent the mortgages issued by banks. They only by conforming mortgages, meaning conforming to their terms. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-credit-crisis.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/fannie-ma... See also the Federal Housing administration which insures loans. https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/fhahistory https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/fhahistory One can see there really isn't a laissez faire free market at work when it comes to housing in the US. The government is in deep and it's regulated out the ying yang.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- topspin 3y ago> One can see there really isn't a laissez faire free market at work One would think. Yet there is never a shortage of "See! That's Capitalism For You" comments.
- kennethrc 3y ago> See Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Seriously. That's what they're named. Well, colloquial names for "FNMA" (Federal National Mortgage Association) and "FHLMC" (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) anyway