FINANCIAL TIMES: The Obama administration has announced a government retreat from the housing market, potentially pushing up the cost of mortgages and ending the decades-old push for ever greater home ownership.
Proposals in a white paper released on Friday would wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises that have received billions of dollars of taxpayer money to prevent their failure. With other government programmes, they now support more than 90 per cent of the mortgage market.
“This is a plan for fundamental reform – to wind down the GSEs, strengthen consumer protection and preserve access to affordable housing for people who need it,” said Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary… (more)
