The Single-Family Affordable Housing Market: Trends and Innovations

Reports the presentations given at the July 1997 Affordable Housing Symposium sponsored by the OCC. Topics include:

• The state of the affordable mortgage lending market;
• Affordable mortgage underwriting standards;
• Risk management and risk mitigation strategies;
• The future of this segment of the housing industry.

Addresses further questions to be answered for improving the industry such as:

• Why can some households manage exceptionally high amounts of debt while others cannot?
• What distinguishes households with non-traditional credit histories who succeed in maintaining their home from those who are unable to manage their mortgage debt?
• Why do some homebuyers experience trouble maintaining a home that was purchased with little equity while others do quite well?
• Why do only a fraction of borrowers with house values lower than outstanding mortgage loan balance go into default?
• What role does homebuyer counselling play in improving a person's ability to manage housing debt? What role could it play?

Answers to these questions will help clarify real risks from perceived risks and help lenders minimise risks while maximising the market size.

[Author's abstract]