Washington, D.C. – Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) made the following statement Wednesday about the recent actions taken by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to dispose of homes owned by Fannie and Freddie:
“Since arriving in Congress one of my top priorities has been finding ways to re-start the U.S. housing market. One of the biggest impediments to a housing recovery is that the U.S. government, through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is holding more than 250,000 Real Estate Owned (REO) single family residences across the country. The continued inability to move these homes back into the marketplace has created significant uncertainty for the market, which has received little indication about when, how, and if these homes will ever be sold.
“Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie and Freddie, issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas about how to dispose of these REO properties.
“Moving these properties off the government’s books and back into the market-place is an important step in creating velocity in the housing market by removing uncertainty about the fate of these homes. If priced at an appropriate discount, these homes will be a unique opportunity for first time home buyers to enter the market at competitive prices.
“Arizona is home to many real estate entrepreneurs and I welcome thoughts and feedback on ways to move these homes to reduce taxpayer risk and ensure this program is implemented properly.
“As part of the Republican jobs agenda, this one technical correction that I am happy to be involved with and many Arizonans will be encouraged to see.”
NOTE:
A link to the FHFA press release can be found here.
A link to the RFI can be found here.
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